Q: Could you please urge men to get regular prostate exams? I’m recovering from prostate surgery. It’s one of the most common cancers in men, and if you wait until you have symptoms, you’ve missed your best opportunity to cure it. Guys should begin PSA blood tests and digital rectal exams in their 40s and certainly by their 50s. There’s also a lot of evidence that improved diet could prevent the whole affair. — Owen M.
COACH FRED: I agree that this is crucial for men as they age. The most prominent example in cycling is Damon Phinney, father of Davis, the winningest road racer in U.S. history. Damon recently died after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Good luck in your recovery, Owen. I hope you can get back on the bike soon!
Digital rectal exams seem to be out of favor at the moment (2020-2021). My internist and those of several friends aren’t doing those exams the last couple of years. This seems to run in (pardon the expression) cycles, so your doctor may have a different philosophy.
Here’s an interesting fact: bicycle riding can raise your PSA. A year ago, my internist expressed concern that my values were trending upward over the last few years. Still well within the “normal range”, but slowly increasing. I found a study on PubMed that reported modest increases in cyclists’ PSA levels. Based on this, I suggested to my doc that I abstain from riding for a week then get re-tested. He agreed, and the next result was lower, in line with values from previous years. This year I did the same thing and my number was the same as last year’s.
This makes sense, because when you’re riding you are pretty much sitting on your prostate gland.
FWIW, another thing that can raise PSA is… sex! So take that into consideration. 🙂