Now organized prostate cancer tests – Prostate Cancer Association

The government has decided to pay SEK 8.4 million for the creation of organized tests for prostate cancer. The context is that the way the diagnosis is too different in different county councils. The funds will be used to make PSA sampling more structured, safer and more consistent. This is an important step towards the introduction of screening. The Prostate Cancer Association has been actively working for the introduction of general screening for prostate cancer in recent years, which was also one of the areas of influence the most important of Mustasch. Early detection of prostate cancer saves lives because the disease can be cured if it is detected early. As a result, Mustasch Camp recommends that all men over 50 years of age be tested for PSA and those with close relatives with prostate cancer should have PSA samples at age 40.

The government's initiative aims to improve the organization and information about the disease and the benefits of PSA screening tests. A group of experts was appointed and quickly developed a model of work organization within the county council. The work was led by Professor Ola Bratt of the Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

Ongoing and planned projects on PSA tests organized
The Skåne region has decided to launch a project with PSA tests organized in 2019. In Västra Götaland, a similar project is being planned. The County Councils of Örebro and Värmland offer a consultation with a nurse. Men who choose to be tested after the information are offered a PSA test.
"In recent years, the number of men who have passed a PSA test has risen sharply and about 50% of adult men have already measured their PSA value." The tests that are taking place today are fragmented over a multitude of years. small devices with few opportunities to acquire new knowledge and more advanced technologies The absence of systematic and professional consensus has created a situation of "wild screening." Many men often perform tests, sometimes totally unnecessary, while others do not do it at all because of ignorance, insecurity or fear, so it is very useful to introduce an organized test system, "said Calle Waller, spokesman for the policy. of the Prostate Cancer Society's health, and included in the designated group of experts.

If prostate cancer is detected early, it can heal
The PSA test is a simple blood sample taken at the health center. Although the disease is so common and that it will heal if it is discovered early, many men do not test because they are unaware of the risk or do not think it is safe. ;is important. The patient is unlikely to wait because prostate cancer can develop well before it becomes a problem. Many men are afraid to take samples while others think that the disease does not affect them. But the truth is that 10,000 men with prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in Sweden. 1,800 of them are diagnosed too late for cure. The causes of prostate cancer have not been clarified, but at least 5% are considered hereditary. The Prostate Cancer Association therefore recommends that close family members with prostate cancer take PSA samples from the age of 40 years.

In Sweden, the seventh man suffers from prostate cancer before the age of 75 and today, 110,000 men live with the diagnosis. It causes prostate cancer among the most common cancers in Sweden, more common than breast and lung cancers. Most have no symptoms at the beginning of the disease. The earlier the cancer is detected, the more it is possible to cure it.

If prostate cancer is discovered late, cancer can spread in the body
– Each year, 1,800 newly diagnosed men receive the message that they have prostate cancer too developed to allow curative treatment. This message does not want and no one wants to leave it to his children, partners or friends. What remains is a braking treatment and for many an early death. 5% of Swedes die as a result of prostate cancer, often after long periods of suffering. This is unacceptable. All men over 50 should try to get prostate cancer for their own good and for their loved ones, "said Göran Hellberg, general secretary of the Prostate Cancer Association.

Scattered prostate cancer means that metastases are formed elsewhere in the body, mainly bones. In the past, most people have died as a result of severe pain, fractures and a serious deterioration in their quality of life. Over the past decade, new drugs and treatment strategies have been introduced to inhibit the disease without causing excessive side effects. Unfortunately, in many ways, county councils are slow to introduce these new treatments, which means that the care offered is uneven.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer and is the one that kills most men, 2,400 per year. The prostate cancer mortality rate has decreased over the past 15 years, mainly due to the large-scale use of the PSA test. More and more are detected in time to be healed. With a general screening, others could be caught before the disease spreads. The methods available to detect prostate cancer requiring intensive treatment are even more uncertain. The project being launched will lead to the development of new methods and the available knowledge will be fully utilized. There is also a lot of research to be done. The goal is to find cancer and cure it before it spreads.

° about 2,400

The community has worked well together to reduce the number of road deaths. The Swedish Road Administration, the State, the municipalities and the police have done a good job. The introduction of an organized prostate cancer would help break the curve and reduce the death rate from prostate cancer.

– The Prostate Cancer Association believes that clinical trials with appropriate prostate tests should be introduced across the country as a first step towards common national screening. Thus, conditions are created to reduce the number of deaths by nearly 50% (Göteborg study), concludes Göran Hellberg.

The Prostate Cancer Association is a national organization of 27 regional and local patient organizations that raise awareness of prostate cancer and provide support to those affected and related. We are also conducting impact work to improve prostate cancer care and support research and development through our own fund, the Prostate Cancer Fund.

Every fall, the Prostate Cancer Association organizes the Mustasch national campaign to raise awareness about prostate cancer, the most common cancer in Sweden. The blue mustache is the sign of the countryside. The Mustasch campaign is organized by the Prostate Cancer Society in collaboration with 27 local prostate cancer associations and several hundred businesses and organizations.