There's a sad story behind that. The scientist who initially identified PSA in 1970, Richard Ablin, ended up turning against it and campaigned ferociously to stop PSA screening, including writing a tragically-misconceived book called "The Prostate Hoax." 😢

The actual problem was that doctors were initially over-treating mildly-elevated PSA levels "just to be safe," though that's not really the case any more with better tools like MRI, genetic testing, active surveillance, less-invasive biopsies, etc etc.

Still, instead of just recommending the doctors not over-treat, Ablin and others took an extreme position and managed to convince major health authorities, including the CDC, that they should recommend stopping routine PSA screening altogether (!!!).

That recommendation has cost many thousands of lives, as the number of prostate cancer cases that are already in advanced stages at first diagnosis has skyrocketed in the U.S. (and probably elsewhere) after many doctors stopped ordering routine screening.

There is a move now to recommend universal PSA screening again (some doctors never stopped it), but change takes time.

In the meantime, we need to advocate for ourselves. Tell everyone you know who has a prostate and is age 50+ (45+ for people with Black ancestry) to go to their doctor and DEMAND annual PSA screening. Even if some private U.S. insurance companies won't pay for it, it's a cheap and easy blood test.