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I'm PSA, Prostate Specific Antigen

 

Protein from the cells of the prostate gland

 

Circulate freely in blood

 

Checked once a year in elderly

 

Higher the man's PSA

 

More likely cancer present in the prostate

 

Acclaimed as the best tumor marker

 

Prevailed at the top of the ladder for four decades

 

Healthy men should no longer receive PSA

 

U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommendation

 

PSA doesn't save lives

 

Leads to unnecessary more tests

 

Added morbidity, pain

 

Impotence, incontinence, Low quality of life

 

To name a few I was blamed for

 

317 thousand new cases diagnosed yearly

 

Prostate cancer claims 41 thousand deaths

 

Since I hit the horizon

 

More diagnosed early

 

And the cancer is treatable

 

Assure cure in most

 

Before I was born, most diagnosed late

 

Caused the lives of many

 

Don't draw a Biblical Line

 

PSA helps men more at risk

 

Young men with long life expectancy

 

African Americans

 

Men with family history, and

 

Those with rapidly raising PSA

 

Should thank PSA

 

Leading their lives in right direction.

 

-S.D. Madduri, MD

 

NorthWest Clinic, Poplar Bluff, MO