When It Comes to Prostate Cancer Why Less Than a Point Could Matter

In most games, one point makes the difference between wining and losing…and the game of life is no different. In fact, with prostate cancer, less than a point could matter when it comes to your baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reading.

Your PSA reading, determined by a blood test, measures the amount of antigens your prostate cells normally make, an amount that is unique to you.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The Urology Group Central Indiana is taking this opportunity to emphasize to men that if their PSA level increases by more than 0.75 points in one year, it could be prostate cancer.

Measuring Your PSA Baseline

If you’re younger than 50, you might think it’s too soon to need a PSA screening, but consider this: 37% of prostate cancer cases occur in men between the ages of 45 and 64, the Centers for Disease Control reported in May 2024.

Common practice now is for men to schedule their first prostate cancer screening as young as 40 or 45, depending on their own risk factors:

• Race – African American men are more likely than men of any other race to develop prostate cancer and at a younger age. The disease is more than twice as likely to be fatal among African American men.
• Fathers and brothers – If an immediate family member is diagnosed with prostate cancer, you have a higher risk of the disease.
• Lifestyle habits – Smoking, obesity, and a diet rich in fatty foods all encourage abnormal cell development that can lead to cancer.

Why Slightly Less Than a Point Matters 

Your antigen levels serve as a marker, or red flag, that something potentially harmful is lurking in your body. Toxic antigens can enter you from outside the body, but your cells – including prostate cells – make antigens as well. The volume of antigens produced by healthy prostate cells represent your PSA baseline.

However, cancerous cells make antigens, too. When these cells divide and spread uncontrollably, antigen levels accelerate, raising your baseline. Similarly, an enlarged prostate can raise PSA levels.

A PSA test detects these elevations, so the earlier you get screened, the more likely you will establish an accurate baseline. Keep in mind though, there is no “average” PSA baseline. A man with a PSA reading of less than 4 (once considered normal), might actually have cancer, while his friend with a 9 does not.

What matters is if your PSA baseline rises. If it climbs by more than 0.75 in one year, it could signal cancer cell growth.

Timing your test is important, because other factors can sway your PSA reading, as well. These include an infection or inflammation – even ejaculation or vigorous exercise, such as bicycling, can cause PSA levels to bump up for a day or two.

Home Remedies to Keep Your PSA in Check

Regardless of your PSA level, a lower reading is generally considered better. If you want to reduce your number, research suggests the following lifestyle modification could help.

• Eat your fruits and veggies – Plant-based foods are rich in nutrients that benefit your immune system. Red and pink foods – tomatoes, grapefruit, watermelon – contain lycopene, which might help prevent cancer.
• Get more vitamin D – Sunlight is a natural source of this immunity-boosting vitamin. You also can find it in milk, cereal, orange juice, and supplements.
• Hit the gym, or the road – Physical exercise, including weight-lifting, might lower PSA levels, but avoid intense workouts on the day of your test.

What’s your PSA Number? Know it. Watch it.

Schedule your first (or follow-up) PSA test sooner than later.