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What Happens During a Prostate
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What happens during a prostate exam?

Many men often want to know exactly what to expect during a prostate exam before they undergo a prostate examination.

"After all," said Jason Robards, "prostate cancer is a pretty scary thought and any diagnosis concerning the prostate gland is something that needs to be carried out very carefully. I would definitely want to know all about what happens during a prostate exam before I agreed to have an exam done."

Prostate exams are actually fairly basic.

The prostate exam can be carried out through a number of different techniques.

PSA level testing or PSA level screening is a common method used to screen for the presence of prostate cancer or any inflammation of the prostate gland.

Typically, a PSA test is not to be carried out for at least a month if you have recently suffered from any viral illness. This is because inflammation can cause a wide fluctuation in PSA test results.

Other forms of prostate examination include DRE or digital rectal examination.

Newer methods include the rectal ultrasound test and also a needle biopsy.

Generally however a needle biopsy is carried out only if there are any unusual results in the previous tests.

The DRE takes little time to be carried out and is quickly over.

The outcome is usually pretty benign. Sometimes it’s found you have BPH. Others might be diagnosed with prostatitis. Less often do you eventually end up with a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

So do not be overly anxious over what happens during a prostate exam. All results are carefully monitored by the medical personnel at the testing center.