Blog
Our Mission
The main goal is to raise awareness about the importance of regular prostate exams to detect potential issues early. We mainly focus on DIY and in-home PSA blood testing and providing the resources to support this.
Men, including ourselves, often hesitate to discuss their health, especially issues related to their genitalia. We aim to break down these barriers and create a forum where all men can openly discuss these health issues.
What Is Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the prostate, a small, walnut-sized gland in the male reproductive system that produces seminal fluid, and it occurs when prostate cells grow abnormally and multiply out of control, often growing slowly but sometimes aggressively, and is the most common cancer in men, with early detection improving outcomes significantly.
What is PSA?
What is PSA, you ask? Prostate-Specific Antigen, or PSA, is a protein exclusively found in men. It’s usually present in minuscule amounts circulating in the bloodstream. Interestingly, both normal and cancerous prostate cells produce this protein. Elevated PSA levels can be a sign of prostate issues.
What is a PSA Test?
A PSA test is a straightforward blood test that measures the level of a protein produced by cells in the prostate gland. It’s primarily used for screening for prostate cancer and monitoring existing prostate conditions or the effectiveness of treatment. It is a non invasive simple test that is easy to perform.
Prostate Cancer Stages
Prostate cancer stages (I-IV) help us understand how far the cancer has spread. They range from being localized (Stage I/II, within the prostate) to being quite advanced (Stage IV, spread to bones/organs). The TNM system (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) provides more details. Generally, lower stages are more treatable, while higher stages (like IV) focus on managing symptoms and improving quality of life. The aggressiveness of the cancer is often assessed using Grade Groups 1-4.
The Four Main Stages
Stage I: The cancer is small and stays within the prostate. It’s often discovered during surgery for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).
Stage II: The cancer is still in the prostate but might have grown to involve both lobes or invaded surrounding tissue.
Stage III: The cancer has spread outside the prostate to the seminal vesicles (Stage IIIA/IIIB) or nearby tissues.
Stage IV: Advanced cancer that has spread to distant lymph nodes, bones, bladder, rectum, or other organs (Stage IVA/IVB).
What is The Gleason Score?
The Gleason score, which has been in use since the 1960s, helps figure out how different the cells in prostate cancer look when under a microscope. As the cancer gets worse, the cells in the prostate gland start to spread out and lose their usual shape. To figure out a proper Gleason score, doctors might take up to 12 samples of the tumor during a prostate biopsy. These samples help them look at the tiny patterns and arrangements of cells. The idea is to help them better grade and stage the cancer, which will help doctors guess what might happen next and choose the best treatment.
To get the score, they look at the two most common cell patterns (grades 1-5) and add them together. The score ranges from 6 (least aggressive) to 10 (most aggressive), with higher scores showing faster growth and spread.
Understanding Prostate Health
It’s easy to mix up enlarged prostate and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), but they’re not exactly the same.
Enlarged Prostate: This is just a way to say the prostate gland is getting bigger. It can happen for lots of reasons, like getting older, getting irritated, being stressed, or catching an infection. BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia): This is a real condition where the prostate gland grows because of non-cancerous cells. You might notice symptoms like needing to pee more often, having trouble starting or stopping your flow, or a weak stream. BPH and Prostatitis: If you have BPH, you might have trouble peeing and your PSA levels could go up. Prostatitis is when the prostate gets inflamed or infected, and that can also raise your PSA levels. Stress and Anxiety: Some research indicates that stress and anxiety might make your PSA levels go up for a bit.
Other Reasons: Sometimes, your PSA levels might be high even if there’s no prostate problem, or you might not find any cancer, even if your PSA is high.
It’s super important to catch prostate issues early so you can get the best treatment.
Our Main Focus
We want to get PSA test kits into the hands of as many men over 40 as possible.
Types of At-Home PSA Tests:
Rapid Result Kits: These kits involve a finger-prick blood sample and provide results within 10-15 minutes, similar to a COVID-19 lateral flow test. They typically offer a simple “positive” or “negative” result based on a pre-set PSA level (e.g., above 4.0 ng/mL).
Lab Send-out Kits: With these, you collect a finger-prick blood sample or a urine sample at home and mail it to a certified laboratory for analysis. The lab provides a specific, quantitative PSA value within a few days. Some tests in this category, like the ExoDx Prostate Test, require a physician's order.
Physician-Ordered Kits: Some services, like Labcorp OnDemand, allow you to order a test online and either go to a lab location or have a phlebotomist come to your home to collect the sample.
We are constantly needing funds to procure and distribute these tests, so we ask for your monetary donation in which to do so.
Cuttin' It For CANCER
Jeff G. Holt, renowned for his legendary beard, is auctioning off his whiskers to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer detection and awareness. He has pledged to cut off his chin mullet after raising $10,000 for the PSA Project USA.
We're holding him to this promise with an online pledge drive called "Cuttin'lt For Cancer, It's a fun and interesting way to generate attention and funds for PSA Project USA's mission to educate men, their friends, and families about early detection and testing for prostate cancer, an epidemic among men.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men over 40, after skin cancer. In its early stages, it often has no symptoms, and about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime in the U.S. It has a high survival rate, but only when detected early. PSA Project USA aims to raise awareness about early detection and testing.
However, funding is necessary, which is why Jeff G. Holt is supporting this initiative.
