Every time I turn on the television or open the newspaper, it's prostate-this or prostate-that. I'm confused by all the conflict

Don’t fear digital rectal exams. PSA screening for prostate cancer is controversial because it might pick up tiny cancers that aren’t clinically important, but there’s little doubt that digital exams reveal dangerous cancers that have to be treated. Same goes for colonoscopies. They’re uncomfortable, yes, but far less so than malignant colon cancer and chemotherapy.