05/15/2026
Physicals are a part of primary care. In training, it always felt that the prostate exam was emphasized more than some other equally important body parts. No doubt the prostate has an outsized place in the stream of things. Depending on the survey method, prostate cancer is either the number one or number two cancer that men have to deal with. June is Men's Health Month. I know, it is still May (which is Women's Heath Month, more on that in a couple of weeks I hope). Until the PSA became more widely recognized for the test's ability to diagnose prostate cancer, it was difficult to get my male patient's in because of fear of the "exam." Since the PSA largely replaced the prostate exam, there are more patients coming in to have all their parts taken care of. The trouble with the PSA is that it comes back borderline or elevated not infrequently. Sometimes rechecking it a few months down the road is appropriate, sometimes a referral is needed. Urologists are busy people and the wait can seem to take forever when there are all those questions that need to be answered. Recently a patient came in and asked about a new test he read about and wanted to have done, but he could not find anyone who could do the test. It is called the 4k score. I looked up the website and did some more reading on this and contacted the company. It seems that I am just about the only one in Central Wisconsin to offer this new and innovative blood test. The test is meant more for the indeterminate patient to sort out the likelihood of cancer so the doctor only needs to refer those men who need to truly have a biopsy. There are a few situations where the PSA results could be skewed so screening out those patients is needed to use the limited urology resources that we have. The test is generally covered by insurance. I am excited to start offering this test to my patients. I have not quite figured out how to start offering it outside of the clinic but I suspect will figure something outfit the demand is out there.
