Large group of men smiling and with raised arms in celebration. Over their heads is a blue banner that reads "Early Detection Saves Lives".

PSA Testing in Australia

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PSA testing and early detection of prostate cancer – our survey had such a great response!  264 wonderful men completed our survey – enormous thanks to them for sharing their stories with us.

Your responses helped shape our submission to the Draft 2025 Guidelines for the Early Detection of Prostate Cancer.  Now the public consultation period is over and our submission has been received.  Phew!

This article covers two topics that are related to one another – the results from our survey and the recommendations we made in our submission.

Results from our survey

The survey asked the following six questions:-

  1. How old were you when you were first diagnosed with prostate cancer?
  2. Where were you living when you received your prostate cancer diagnosis?
  3. Do you know if anyone else in your family (parent, grandparent, sibling) had prostate cancer, breast cancer or ovarian cancer?
  4. How did you come to be diagnosed with prostate cancer?
  5. What was your PSA level?
  6. What was your Gleason score / cancer grading?

Snapshot of key themes

  • Low PSA scores did not always correlate with Gleason scores
  • Concerns regarding GP knowledge / oversight
  • Diagnosis by accident / good fortune
  • Diagnosis following TURPs
  • Men needing more education about prostate cancer testing
  • Men having to advocate for their own health
  • Delays leading to worse diagnostic outcomes
  • Many men did not know their family health history

For full charts and details, I have compiled a PDF document which you can download by clicking the link below.

Results of Survey into Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Pathways

PCFA Draft 2025 Guidelines

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) recently released the Draft 2025 Guidelines document.  It was a whopping 317 pages, and had a swag of accompanying documents – like the 565 page Technical Report.

The public consultation period ran from 14 April 2025 until 25 May 2025.

The proposed new Guidelines will provide the framework for General Practitioners for years to come.  So it is critical that the 2025 Guidelines deliver the best possible outcomes for Australian men.

Our submission

The following are the key recommendations that we made to PCFA.  They reflect our years of experience and the feedback we have received repeatedly from men with prostate cancer (and their loved ones).

  1. Offer annual testing for all men between the ages of 40 and 80.
  2. All PSA blood tests to include free-to-total PSA tests at the same time.
  3. All GPs to be given clear information (similar to the “Spanner in the Works” document  by Healthy Male).  That info should then be given to all male patients aged 40+.
  4. All men aged 40+  to be directed to suitable online sources of accurate information about prostate health.
  5. All GPs to be offered more info and training to conduct DRE (digital rectal examination).
  6. All men from age of 40+ to be offered a DRE, after GP explanation of the examination.
  7. All GPs to receive a clear “cheat sheet” to help them explain to men all the reasons why a standard PSA test can return high PSA results.
  8. All men diagnosed with low-risk or localised prostate cancer to be given FULL information on all treatment options that are appropriate for them, including active surveillance.
  9. GPs and treating clinicians must be working together to ensure that all the relevant healthcare professionals know what is going on.
  10. All men who opt for active surveillance to receive clear and complete information about what it involves, including relevant intervals of testing and follow-up visits.
  11. Men to receive reminder calls, messages or emails to ensure they do not miss their tests, scans, etc.
  12. RACGP’s Red Book and Medicare MBS item numbers to be updated to align with all recommendations in the final 2025 Guidelines.
  13. All GPs to be advised of the new recommendations, with possible online webinars to explain the Guidelines and respond to questions.

For full details, including our rationale for these recommendations, download the PDF by clicking the link below.

The Prostate Zone – Submission on Draft 2025 Guidelines

What happens now?

According to the response we received from PCFA, our “contribution will be considered carefully and used to inform the Final Draft for the approval of Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council later this year.”

As always, please note that all content and media on The Prostate Zone website is created and published online for informational purposes only. You should always seek professional medical advice.

The recommendations we have made and our reasons for doing so are based on many years of experience, both personal and alongside the prostate cancer journeys of other men.  We believe men’s health should be the foremost consideration in finalising the 2025 Guidelines.  We also believe there are sound health economic reasons for proactive PSA testing.  Early detection of prostate cancer saves both lives and money.

We send our heartfelt thanks to those men who completed our survey and provided us with their stories.  Your efforts help us continue the work that we do to achieve better outcomes for men and their loved ones.