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Breast Tissue: A Case Study

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You are seeing a husband and wife for routine yearly physicals. You want to discuss health promotion activities with them, including self-breast exam (SBE) and mammography for the wife and prostate self-exams for the husband. The wife states she is embarrassed to admit she has never done a breast self-exam or had a mammogram and didn't think they were useful anyway. The husband tells you he read in the magazine in your waiting room that blood tests to check for prostate cancer don't need to be done anymore.

1. Briefly describe the technique for doing a SBE.
Self-breast exam (SBE) is an at-home screening technique that examines changes or problems in the breast tissue. The best time for SBE is 3-5 days after the menstrual cycle and the steps …show more content…

1).

4. Critique the use of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to diagnose prostate cancer.
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is “used primarily to screen for prostate cancer and measures the amount of PSA in the blood. High levels of PSA can indicate the presence of prostate cancer or enlarged or inflamed prostate”("PSA test," 2013, p. 1). If the PSA level is elevated, then the test may be repeated at a later date or a biopsy of the prostate may be advised to rule out cancer. Age, race, and family history will play a role when determining the next steps. Other PSA tests that can be used are:
- Percent-free PSA: The ratio of how much PSA circulates free compared to the total PSA level, percentage of free PSA is lower in men who have prostate cancer than in men who do not”("Tests for prostate cancer," 2014, p. 1). It can be used to determine if a biopsy is necessary.
- PSA velocity: Measures how fast the PSA rises over time.
- PSA density: Used for men with larger prostate glands; a higher density indicates a greater likelihood of cancer.
- Age-specific PSA ranges: Compares PSA results with other men of the same age, but it not a recommended …show more content…

8). There is no specific age for screening in men with showing no symptoms, but it is advised that men are educated on the benefits and risks of screenings. Men with an “initial PSA level below 2.5 ng/ml can be screened every two years, but men with higher levels should be tested annually”(Brosman, 2015, p. 8). The recommendation for this patient is to have an initial PSA level screening and DRE with this routine physical. Further testing will depend on these

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