This awareness gap could prevent earlier cancer detection, so one expert doctor is sharing crucial details you should know.
About the expert
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Highlights
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Pop quiz: Do you know where the prostate gland is? If you think you know but aren’t 100% sure, you’re not alone. In fact, six in 10 men do not know where their prostate is, according to new survey data from the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF).
“It’s informative because it tells you that the word itself may not be familiar to patients—and if it’s not familiar, then you’re definitely not having discussions with your primary care physician about it, which isn’t good,” says Phillip J. Koo, MD, chief medical officer at PCF.
This is because about one in eight men get cancer in their prostate—a walnut-sized gland below the bladder—and when caught early, experts say it’s 99% curable. Yet it remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men, with incidence and mortality rates rising.
This new PCF research highlights the importance of better public understanding around this topic—and the hope of more early, life-saving diagnoses. “Too many men are being diagnosed at later stages when treatment options are limited, and survival rates decline,” says the PCF in its report. Ahead, Dr. Koo clears up some common misconceptions around the prostate and cancer screenings—and reveals when you should talk to your doctor about being screened.
A simple screening test option
Another key finding from the PCF research: half of men think that prostate cancer screening means a digital rectal exam (DRE). “Which, let’s be honest, doesn’t sound very pleasant,” Dr. Koo says. But he says there’s a different type of screening to be aware of, calling it “a simple blood test that tells you a lot.”
This test is called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which measures a protein in your blood that could indicate prostate cancer. “Just because it’s elevated doesn’t necessarily mean you have prostate cancer,” Dr. Koo says. Infections, inflammation, or even recent intercourse can raise PSA levels. “But it gives us a signal to inform further evaluation.”
Because these other factors can influence your PSA levels, if your test comes back elevated, Dr. Koo says that doctors generally just repeat the test within a short timeframe. “If it goes down, then it’s a really good sign that it’s not prostate cancer,” he says. If levels remain high after repeat testing, that’s when additional screening options are considered, such as the digital rectal exam or getting an MRI.
Many men don’t know they’re at a higher risk
Dr. Koo points out another big takeaway: only half of Black men know they face a higher-than-average risk of prostate cancer, saying, “We know they’re at higher risk, and the biology of their disease tends to be more aggressive.” According to 2025 research from the American Cancer Society, Black men are 67% more likely to get prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it.
Men with a family history of prostate cancer are also at greater risk. Research published in Nature Genetics in 2024 says that prostate cancer has the highest heritability of all cancers—up to 63%—with few modifiable risk factors.
Prostate cancer in younger men is on the rise
Even if you aren’t in a high-risk group, prostate cancer is not just a later-in-life disease. According to 2025 research published in Scientific Reports, cases in men under 50 increased more than 30% since 1990, with rates rising about 1% each year.
However, the PCF found that 72% of men between the ages of 40 to 49 have never been screened. “These findings depict an alarming trend,” according to the PCF. “Men are dying when their prostate cancer could be getting diagnosed and treated earlier.”
Even among older men, risk awareness remains low—60% say their doctor has recommended prostate cancer testing, but 44% remain unscreened.
When to start screening
“If you’re a healthy male, talk to your doctor about getting screened somewhere in that 45 to 50 [age] range,” Dr. Koo says. “If you have risk factors or family history, or if you’re African American, we recommend that conversation starts sooner, with testing between age 40 and 45.”
Still, screening hesitation is a concern. A 2025 study published in the Annals of Behavior Medicine found that one in three people avoid receiving medical information, including delaying or refusing cancer screenings. The authors note this is often due to fear of bad news, feeling overwhelmed or judged, or low confidence in managing a diagnosis.
That’s why normalizing prostate cancer screening and addressing the stigmas surrounding it are a priority for Dr. Koo and the PCF. “With prostate cancer screening, the beauty is that it’s meant to be performed in people who do not have symptoms,” Dr. Koo says. “So if you can catch it before you have symptoms, you’re going to maximize the ability to cure the disease.”
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