Multiparametric MRI Adds Value to Surveillance Monitoring
It’s always reassuring to receive affirmation, especially when offering a leading edge medical program to prostate cancer patients. Such was the case for us at the Sperling Prostate Center with the December, 2015 publication of a UCLA Medical Center study on the value-added of multiparametric MRI during Active Surveillance (AS). The authoritative Journal of Urology keep readingConcern Regarding Radiation Overuse
Here’s a little quiz: Which whole gland therapy for prostate cancer has the highest risk of recurrence? Radical prostatectomy Radiation therapy Cryotherapy of the whole gland HIFU of the whole gland If you answered radiation, you are correct. According to a recent article, the rate of prostate cancer coming back after conventional external beam radiation keep readingThe Right Way to do Active Surveillance
We know that the use of Active Surveillance (AS) as a way to hold off on prostate cancer (PCa) treatment is on the rise. Concerns about overtreatment, such as doing a prostatectomy on a patient who only has a small Gleason 3+3 tumor, stem from two recognized realities: Insignificant PCa may be slow-growing (indolent) and keep readingThe Time For Focal Laser Ablation Is Here
Until about 10 years ago, conventional prostate cancer treatments were based on the assumption that prostate cancer is a multifocal disease. All conventional treatment modalities (surgery, radiotherapy, and thermal ablation) were “radical” because they were directed at the removal or destruction of the whole gland. Such treatments, however, put urinary and sexual function at risk, keep readingProstate Cancer: Family History and Focal Laser Ablation
At the Sperling Prostate Center, we believe family history matters, and patients who have a hereditary history of any kind of cancer, especially first degree relatives deserve special counseling. keep reading
Prostate Cancer: How Treatment Affects Men Who Have Sex With Men
The vast majority of published literature on prostate cancer (PCa), and also patient advocacy websites, often seem to overlook the needs of minority populations. Differences such as genetic vulnerability (suggested by higher incidence and death rates for African American men) or ethnic differences in male identity and how men relate to their bodies are not keep readingMultiparametric MRI Minimizes Biopsy Needles, Maximizes Accuracy
I recently posted a summary of an Italian study showing that MRI (mpMRI) was superior to other prostate cancer tests in terms of predicting the need for a repeat biopsy after a previously negative result. mpMRI is able to show if there is a need for another biopsy. This is happy news for patients, who dread having keep readingToo Fat for Active Surveillance?
I have written on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, especially diet and nutrition, which is correlated with preventing prostate cancer (PCa) and other diseases. (NOTE: You can read some of my related blogs from links at the end of this one.) I came across a new multi-center Italian study that addresses the question: does keep readingPost-prostatectomy Rates of ED Have Not Improved
I remember being at a medical convention about 10 years ago and overhearing a conversation between two doctors, specialty unknown, who were speaking positively about Dr. Patrick Walsh’s famous contribution, the nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy (RP). As I later learned, he first applied his technique in 1982, and the patient regained potency about a year after keep reading
