Sperling Prostate Center

Category: General Prostate

Poverty and Prostate Cancer Risk

I have written past blogs about physical factors that increase the risk of dying from prostate cancer: genetic history, exposure to toxic agents, alcohol abuse, smoking, too much red meat, precursor conditions such as high grade PIN and ASAP, etc. However, there’s another risk factor that does not occur within the body, but certainly affects keep reading

Demythologizing the Gold Standard

We live in an age of medical specialties that “compete” for patients. In women’s health, for example, treating noncancerous growths called uterine fibroid tumors has traditionally been the territory of gynecologists. Gynecologists, like urologists, were trained in surgery so they often recommend hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) as the gold standard for treating severe keep reading

MRI and The Magic 8 Ball

Prostate MRI - Sperling Prostate Center
Within a few years after the blog below was posted, continued progress in multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) methods bolstered its ability to predict aggressiveness of prostate cancer (PCa) before biopsy. Technologic improvements have led to faster image acquisition and higher resolution images, in turn enhancing its predictive power. Now, to add even more predictive value... keep reading

“I Did It My Way”

One of Frank Sinatra’s most popular songs is “My Way,” and anyone who’s heard him sing it knows how he builds up to those last two syllables: myyyyyy waaay. When I chose medicine as my career path, part of what influenced me was my idealism. I wanted to help people by curing disease and easing keep reading

Quality of Life After Radical Prostatectomy

Suzanne Somers once remarked, “I appreciate health care that gets to the root cause of our symptoms and promotes wellness, rather than the one-size-fits-all drug-based approach to treating disease. I love maintaining an optimal quality of life – naturally.” Ms. Somers’ words capture what we all want: to stay healthy and preserve vitality of body, keep reading

Marketing vs. Research-Based Information

ASCO Connection is the official membership magazine of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). In August 2014, the magazine carried an article by ASCO member Joel B. Nelson, MD (Chair of the Department of Urology at University of Pittsburgh). The title was “The Lack of Value for Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.”[i] Lack of value? That’s keep reading
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