Understand PSA testing and preparation, then explore Heracles at-home monitoring with a doctor-reviewed result and a clear next step.
A PSA blood test helps assess prostate health. It measures prostate-specific antigen, a protein made by prostate cells. Cancer, benign enlargement, inflammation, infection and recent activity can all affect the result.
Heracles makes PSA monitoring straightforward: take your sample at home, return it to the laboratory and receive a doctor-reviewed result with guidance on what happens next. Start your PSA assessment.
A PSA result needs clinical context: age, symptoms, family history, ethnicity, medicines, examination and earlier results. A raised result does not diagnose cancer, and a normal result cannot completely exclude it. Understanding these limits is part of deciding whether to test.
The prostate is a gland below the bladder. It produces fluid that forms part of semen. PSA normally enters the bloodstream in small amounts. Blood PSA often rises as the prostate becomes larger with age, and it can rise when prostate tissue is inflamed, infected or disrupted.
Laboratories usually report PSA in nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL), which is numerically equivalent to micrograms per litre (µg/L). The number should never be interpreted without context.
A PSA test can indicate that the prostate needs further assessment. It may contribute to the investigation of prostate cancer, benign prostate enlargement and prostatitis. It usually cannot identify which condition is responsible, show exactly where a problem is or confirm whether cancer is clinically significant.
If a result is concerning, the next step may be a repeat PSA, a prostate examination, urine testing, specialist assessment or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A biopsy may be advised after MRI and risk assessment, but NICE advises against deciding on biopsy from the PSA result alone.
You can speak to a GP or qualified clinician about having a PSA test if you have symptoms that could be related to the prostate, concerns about your prostate health, or an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Your risk of prostate cancer increases with age. Risk is also higher in Black men, men whose father or brother has had prostate cancer, particularly if they were diagnosed at a younger age, and men with certain inherited genetic variants.
If you have a strong family history of prostate cancer, a known pathogenic BRCA2 variant, or another factor that may increase your risk, discuss this with a clinician. They can help you decide whether PSA testing is appropriate and when it should be considered.
Urinary symptoms are common and are usually caused by non-cancerous conditions, but they still deserve assessment if they are persistent, troublesome or changing.
The UK does not currently have a population-wide PSA screening programme.
PSA testing can find some prostate cancers earlier, but it can also miss cancer, lead to further investigations after a benign rise in PSA, or identify a slow-growing cancer that would never have caused harm.
Discuss the benefits and risks with a clinician before deciding whether to test.
Targeted screening is different from population screening. In 2026, the UK National Screening Committee recommended PSA testing every two years for men aged 45–61 who have both a pathogenic BRCA2 variant and a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer.
This recommendation is aimed at a specific higher-risk group rather than all men. The way this recommendation is implemented may differ between the UK nations.
Several short-term factors can temporarily affect your PSA level and make the result harder to interpret. Tell the clinician arranging the test about any symptoms, recent procedures and all prescribed or non-prescribed medicines.
You can usually eat and drink normally before a PSA blood test.
If you need a repeat test, having it under similar conditions and, where possible, using the same laboratory can make results easier to compare.
A PSA test needs a small blood sample. In a clinic, this is usually taken from a vein in the arm. Heracles uses an at-home finger-prick sample analysed by UKAS-accredited Viva Health Laboratories, followed by doctor review. If confirmation is needed, a clinician may recommend another capillary test or a venous sample.
There is no single number that is safe or concerning for every man. Clinicians consider the result against age-related referral thresholds, previous results, prostate size, symptoms, examination findings, infection, medicines and individual risk factors. Different UK nations and local pathways can use different thresholds.
A single result close to a threshold may be repeated after temporary causes have been excluded. A clear rise over time can add information, but PSA velocity is not a stand-alone cancer test. Small changes may reflect ordinary biological or laboratory variation.
Finasteride and dutasteride can reduce PSA, often substantially. Never adjust the number yourself; give the clinician a complete medication history so the result can be interpreted appropriately.
The clinician first checks whether a temporary explanation is likely and whether the result crosses the relevant referral threshold. Depending on the circumstances, they may repeat the test, perform a digital rectal examination, request urine tests, review earlier PSA values or refer to urology. MRI is now generally the first specialist imaging test for suspected localised prostate cancer in the NHS pathway.
Most raised PSA results are not caused by prostate cancer. Cancer Research UK reports that roughly 72–80% of people with a raised PSA do not have prostate cancer. The result still needs structured clinical assessment rather than a conclusion from one blood test.
Seek urgent assessment if you cannot pass urine, have fever or chills with urinary or pelvic symptoms, feel acutely unwell, or have severe pain. Arrange a prompt clinical review for visible blood in urine, persistent blood in semen, unexplained weight loss or persistent bone or back or loin pain. These symptoms have several possible causes; they should not be self-diagnosed.
There is no universal interval. Follow-up depends on age, baseline PSA, risk factors, symptoms, previous results and the clinician’s assessment.
Your plan brings together scheduled at-home kits, laboratory analysis, doctor review and a clear explanation of every result. Your record builds over time, so changes can be assessed against your own history. Peter Grice leads Heracles’ clinical pathways, alongside the urology expertise of co-founders Professor Suks Minhas and Professor Tet Yap.
Start your PSA assessment or meet the Heracles clinical team. Where further investigation is needed, Heracles can support a GP handover or discuss clinically appropriate private options. Extra consultations and investigations are separate from the monitoring plan.
