PSA Prostate Check

UK practice is to avoid ejaculation and vigorous exercise, especially cycling, for 48 hours beforehand, and to delay testing for six weeks after a urine infection or a prostate biopsy. All of these can raise the result for reasons unrelated to cancer.

When the total PSA is in the grey zone, the proportion that is free gives a doctor extra context about how likely a raised figure is to have a benign explanation. It is one input among several, not a separate answer.

The reviewing doctor explains what the figure means for your age and the report says clearly that it is outside the range. The usual next step is your GP, who can examine you and decide whether anything further is needed.

It can. High-dose biotin (vitamin B7), often sold for hair, skin and nails, can make some hormone results read too high or too low. Laboratory advice is usually to leave at least 8 hours after a dose of 5 mg or more, and some advise longer, so the simplest approach is to skip it on the day of your sample. Tell us if you take it, and do not stop a medicine that a doctor has prescribed.

The laboratory typically takes 1 to 2 working days from receiving your sample. This does not include kit delivery, sample collection or return postage. A doctor reviews your results before they are released.

This test is a clinic blood draw, as it needs a venous sample for accuracy. We arrange a convenient appointment for you.

Yes. Every result is reviewed by a GMC-registered doctor who signs it off and explains what it means and what to do next.

Your results are available through your secure patient portal. Our privacy policy explains how your information is handled and when it may be shared to provide your care.

Your sample is analysed at a UKAS-accredited laboratory (ISO 15189). A GMC-registered doctor then reads every result and signs the report before it is released, so nothing reaches you unreviewed. There is no option to receive results without a doctor reading them first. The report arrives in your secure portal in plain English: each result with its unit and the laboratory's own reference range, and the doctor's note on what the set means read together. If a result sits outside its range the report says so and explains what usually happens next, which is most often a conversation with your own GP, who can act on it alongside your history and examination. Most reference ranges are set to cover about 95% of healthy people, so about 1 in 20 healthy people fall just outside any one of them. On a report with many results it is common for one to sit just outside its range, and a single number on its own rarely tells the whole story. If a result needs urgent attention, the reviewing doctor is alerted straight away and we contact you by phone the same working day rather than leaving it in the portal for you to find. If a specific result needs rechecking, the reviewing doctor says so in your report.