Men often miss prostate cancer screening, experts say it could save lives

Men’s health advocates keep returning to the same problem: a screening that can save lives is still too easy to put off. Dr. Darien Sutton of ABC News has been highlighting prostate cancer screening as National Men’s Health Week begins, and the message lands because the gap is behavioral as much as medical. The test most men miss is the PSA blood test, and the decision to take it starts with a conversation, not a reflex.

Why this screening matters

Prostate cancer is the most common nonskin cancer among men in the United States, and the numbers show why early detection remains a public health issue. The American Cancer Society says about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, about 6 in 10 cases are found in men 65 or older, and the average age at diagnosis is about 67. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 255,395 new U.S. cases in 2022, with 70% diagnosed at the local stage, a sign that many cancers are still being caught before they spread.

That is the basic logic behind screening, even as the PSA test remains controversial. Major health organizations do not recommend automatic testing for every man without discussion; instead, they push informed decision-making with a clinician because the benefits, risks, and uncertainties need to be weighed case by case. In practice, that makes the screening less like a one-click appointment and more like a preventive-care decision that many men delay.

Who should talk to a clinician, and when

The American Cancer Society recommends that men at average risk begin shared decision-making about prostate cancer screening at age 50. Men at high risk should start that discussion at age 45. The society also says asymptomatic men with at least a 10-year life expectancy should have the chance to take part in that decision, which is especially important because screening is not reserved for men who already feel ill.

That timing matters because the disease often affects older men, but not only older men. The National Institute on Aging points readers to prostate health resources that include who needs annual PSA testing, reinforcing that the question is not whether every man should be screened on a fixed schedule, but which men should revisit the issue regularly with a clinician. In a preventive-care system, the men who benefit most are often the ones who make room for that conversation before symptoms, fear, or a late diagnosis force the issue.

Why men skip it anyway

The reluctance is familiar across American health care: if a test is optional, nuanced, and tied to a discussion about uncertainty, many men simply do not get around to it. Screening can be easy to postpone because it does not feel urgent, and because prostate cancer awareness does not always translate into action at the doctor’s office. National Men’s Health Week exists in part to push back on that pattern by encouraging men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury.

Stigma also plays a role, even if it is rarely written into appointment systems or policy memos. A test that requires a blood draw and a candid conversation about cancer risk can feel less immediate than a problem with obvious symptoms, which helps explain why prevention habits lag behind the science. The public-health challenge is not only to offer the screening, but to normalize the decision-making process that leads to it.

What the policy response says about the stakes

National Men’s Health Week was established by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on May 31, 1994, with the first observance designated for June 12 through 19, 1994. It now falls during the week of Father’s Day, and the Men’s Health Network says the goal is to get men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment. This year’s observance sits inside a broader June campaign around men’s health, a reminder that awareness is meant to turn into appointments, screenings, and follow-up care.

Congress has also tied the issue to wider health disparities. A 2025 House resolution supporting National Men’s Health Week said men in the United States live more than 5 years less than women on average, and that African American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer and are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from the disease than White men. In the same year, American Cancer Society researchers reported that prostate cancer incidence, after years of decline, was rising again at 3.0% annually from 2014 through 2021.

That trend sharpens the policy argument behind the week’s messaging. Prostate screening is not a one-size-fits-all command, but it is also not something men can safely ignore until later. For average-risk men at 50 and high-risk men at 45, the right next step is not guessing, it is a clinician conversation that can turn a missed chance into early detection.