„It is important not only to get checked but also what the result provides. If changes are detected early, the doctor can monitor them or start treatment earlier if necessary. Then it is more effective and less impacts a person’s life,“ says Jurgita Grigarienė, advisor at the State Health Insurance Fund’s Service Compensation Department.
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No feeling of need to look for diseases
The opinion that there is no need to check health if you feel good is the most common reason for avoiding or postponing preventive screening, which people mention in opinion surveys initiated by the health insurance fund. Among the reasons, they also mention lack of time, fear of tests or their results.
However, the check itself does not take long and is much simpler than sometimes imagined. When checked according to the prostate cancer prevention program, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is performed.
„Sometimes men do not get checked because they fear unpleasant procedures or think that a worse result immediately means cancer. But the program starts with a blood test. Even an increased concentration of prostate-specific antigen is not a cancer diagnosis – it is a sign that the patient’s health should be monitored more closely or additional tests performed,“ emphasizes the health insurance fund representative.
Changes in the program from September
From September 1 this year, men aged 50–69 (inclusive) are invited to get checked under the prostate cancer prevention program. As before, checks need to be periodic, but the procedure for repeat checks changes: some men will need to repeat the test less often, some will no longer need to be rechecked.
This means that the lower the PSA concentration, the less often the test needs to be repeated. For example, men aged 50–59 (inclusive) with low PSA concentration are recommended to have a repeat check after five years. Usually, about half of men tested have this indicator low. If the PSA concentration is higher but does not exceed the established norm, a repeat check is recommended after two years – this is needed for about one in four men tested. Men aged 60–69 (inclusive) with very low PSA concentration no longer need to be rechecked.
PSA concentration exceeds the established norm in about 16% of men tested. However, such a result is still not a diagnosis – only in this case are additional tests needed.
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Currently, changes are being prepared so that from April next year invitations to check under this program will be automated and sent through the e-health system and by email, and reminders – also by SMS or mail or notified by phone. Therefore, it will be easier for men to know on time when they should get checked.
When should you not wait for the preventive program?
The preventive program is intended for men who do not have symptoms characteristic of the disease and are of a certain age when the risk of illness increases. However, this is not the only way to take care of prostate health.
If there have been cases of prostate cancer in the family and a person is worried about their risk or a man of any age notices health changes, he should consult a family doctor without waiting for the time of the planned preventive check. The family doctor can individually assess risk factors, prescribe tests if necessary, or issue a referral to a specialist doctor – a urologist.
If there have been cases of prostate cancer in the family and a person is worried about their risk or a man of any age notices health changes, he should consult a family doctor without waiting for the time of the planned preventive check.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common male oncological diseases in Lithuania. According to cancer registry data, more than 2,000 men receive this diagnosis annually. Therefore, specialists urge to get checked without waiting for symptoms and to view the preventive test not as a reason to worry but as an opportunity to learn more about your health and take timely measures to protect it.
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