Happy Father’s Day!

One in seven Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and more than 4,000 men were estimated to die from the disease in 2017, but that story is changing. Since 2001, that number has been decreasing by an average of 3.3% per year, largely attributed to early diagnosis and better treatment options. Men in their 40s are encouraged to get a baseline PSA test and those at a higher risk for prostate cancer should talk to their doctor even before age 40.

Every day, more and more methods to detect prostate cancer are being explored, but the tried and true methods of a digital rectal examination (DRE) – where a healthcare professional inserts a gloved finger into the rectum to check for abnormalities, paired with a blood test known as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test – which you can get through your family doctor, are still the long-standing proven ways to save a life.