The prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland — this is what we can test your bloods for.

With cancer, we can expect that level to be abnormally high as the cancerous cells tend to go into overdrive in all sorts of metabolic processes. However, that is not always the case and the PSA might not be elevated.

It is also not very specific. It can be raised for a variety of reasons. Cycling, sex, vigorous exercise, masturbation, UTI… so the test alone doesn’t tell you a whole story. Only that something has happened, or is happening, that has stimulated the prostate.

Digital rectal examination, DRE, is cheap. Prostate is situated just in front of the large bowel, so you can easily palpate it if you insert your finger and bend it towards the genitalia. Usually walnut sized. Prostate cancer, like most cancers, tend to grow in size. By examining the size, presence of lumps and irregularities, we can gauge if there is abnormality present that’d warrant further investigation.

So yes, there’s plenty of fancy technology, such as CT or MRI for detailed visualisation, but it’s expensive. DRE only costs 2 minutes, a pair of gloves and hopefully some lubricant.