Up Yours

In thinking more about the article in February's "Scientific American," a very basic flaw struck me. In the discussion of testing for prostate cancer, I don't recall any mention of DRE (digital rectal examination)...a glaring omission. The importance of regular DRE cannot be overstated.

Ask Ken Jones who never had a PSA score above 2, yet a DRE presented as abnormal; during subsequent surgery, a tennis ball sized tumor was revealed growing outside the prostate. Note: Ken, feel free to correct and/or expand upon my recollection.

Certainly no one looks forward to the doctor snapping on the rubber glove and flexing, what feels like, his (or, God forbid, her...sorry, I've not evolved to that degree) fourteen inch finger...I'm quite sure the doctor isn't thrilled about it either. Yet it is, none-the-less, an indispensable diagnostic procedure.

However, just as one should not rely upon the PSA test in isolation (something the article fails to consider), the DRE is only one of a series of tests useful in constructing the profile of a patient's prostate health.

DRE is a simple procedure every adult male should insist upon at regular intervals. Let's begin a campaign to make UP YOURS a call to health!!