Tag: biopsy

Why has it taken so long for someone to denounce the digital rectal exam (DRE) as a screening tool? Despite expert opinion against the DRE, many primary care doctors still do a DRE as part of routine annual checkups. The DRE has also been considered an essential monitoring practice for prostate cancer (PCa) patients on keep reading

“Cancer screening should be a regular part of your life,” states the American Cancer Society (ACS). When it comes to screening tests (e.g., Pap smear, mammogram, colonoscopy, PSA blood tests, etc.) there are two kinds of people: those who wholeheartedly embrace ACS’s advice, and those who don’t. Those in the first group believe that not keep reading

When you think of Sweden—which you probably don’t do often—what springs to mind? Maybe it’s tall blonde people, IKEA, or those cute painted horse carvings. Perhaps you picture Hollywood legends Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, or you recall the cocktail party where the hostess served tasty Swedish meatballs. If you’re a music lover, you can keep reading

If you’ve been diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, chances are your doctor has said you may be a candidate for Active Surveillance (AS). The National Cancer Institute defines AS as a cancer management strategy to avoid or delay treatments with side effect risks. It “involves closely watching a patient’s condition but not giving any treatment keep reading

Unnecessary treatment. Morbidities (side effects). Up to 67% overdiagnosis. These words and phrases come from a published literature review that asks, “What chance do we have to decrease prostate cancer overdiagnosis and overtreatment?” For many, the answer lies in... keep reading

Who doesn’t love to save millions of dollars? Multiparametric MRI offers huge savings in healthcare spending by ruling out need for a prostate biopsy—not to mention saving thousands of men the anxiety of being rushed into something unpleasant that may be totally unnecessary. keep reading

It’s a fact. America’s population is aging. Lifespans are increasing due to medical and lifestyle advances, so a healthy 70-year old man’s life expectancy may be greater than his father’s was at the same age. Here’s another fact: prostate cancer (PCa), the most common tumor cancer in men, is considered a disease of aging. The keep reading

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common non-skin cancer in men, and it’s one of the most curable if it’s detected early. In addition, the American Cancer Society points out, “Catching cancer early often allows for more treatment options.” This is definitely true for PCa, since the number of available treatment methods has grown in keep reading

There’s a time and a place for discussion before making a decision, but a doctor’s visit prior to a PSA blood draw is not the time or the place. The current recommendation is as follows: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that men ages 55 to 69 years discuss the possible benefits and keep reading

Did you know there are different types of prostate cancer (PCa)? That’s because cancer starts when the genes in a healthy cell mutate, causing it to behave abnormally. Since the structure of the prostate gland is composed of distinct types of cells, the kind of PCa is determined by the kind of cell from which keep reading