I have a twin brother who just informed that his PSA count is 17.1, how bad is that?

Hi Don,

If you are over 50, you should already be seeing a urologist for all the normal tests (colonoscopy, prostate checks, etc) and your doctor should know whether this is something you should have checked. It might not be a bad idea to speak to your doctor about it and possibly have a PSA test.

You can read about PSA test numbers, what they mean and how they affect the diagnosis of prostate issues in this section located here. Dr Marc Greenstein wrote an article about PSA Velocity and what it means when PSA numbers rise quickly. You can read that article here. In the article, Dr Greenstein talks about a patient who asks a similar question to yours. Dr Greenstein has some good advice.

Remember, online sites are wonderful resources for information to help you ask all the right questions of your doctor, however they can not take the place of your doctor's solid medical care and advice.

Take care and stay in touch, let us know how you and your brother are doing!

Vicki M