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Low T? Test Before and During.

Many men above 45 are under the influence of the “Low T” marketing. Testosterone is the holy grail of energy, positive mood, and sexuality! Go get the latest and the greatest gel, transdermal patch, oral formulation, or injection to boost your T! The T market is forecast to reach $5 billion by 2017.

Men using testosterone boosting therapies should know if the therapy works. Get your T levels tested and watch your numbers grow! Hopefully.

PSA Screening: Weighing Harms And Benefits

Rita Rubin of The Baltimore Sun writes: “For nearly a quarter century, doctors have ordered annual PSA tests for men of a certain age to screen for prostate cancer, despite a lack of evidence that the benefits outweighed the risks – especially when tiny, slow-growing tumors were detected”.

The greatest benefit of PSA appears to be for those 55 to 69 but men in that age group should discuss the pros and cons with their doctor before deciding whether to proceed. For those who opt for screening, waiting at least two years between tests could minimize potential harms – namely false-positives and the detection of slow-growing tumors that wouldn’t have caused any symptoms – while preserving most benefits.

Read the story.

PSA Tests for Men Over 75

PSA or not to PSA?Fewer men over age 75 are being routinely screened for cancer with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test following a 2008 recommendation against these tests. About 4 in 10 men over 75 get the tests.

Before the recommendation, 47 percent of men over 75 had a PSA test. By 2010, that percentage dropped to 42 percent, according to Medicare data. That occurred without any change in payment policy by Medicare, which continues to cover the PSA tests.

A less-is-more approach may work for older men. In 2007 – before the guidelines – 49.5 percent of men age 65 to 74 had… Continue reading