Tag: prostate cancer

What do breast cancer (BCa) and prostate cancer (PCa) have in common? As it turns out, they share several characteristics: They are both the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. They are both related to sexuality and reproduction They are both subject to hormone-driven cancers that respond to drugs that affect hormone keep reading

In the not-so-distant past, a PSA blood test that showed an elevated or rising PSA most often led to a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided needle biopsy of the prostate. Most TRUS biopsies involve 12 or more needles for the simple reason that ultrasound cannot clearly identify what’s a tumor and what isn’t. And unfortunately, this keep reading

Do you ever worry about the quality of the air you breathe or the water you drink from public sources? What about urban overcrowding? Noise pollution? Light pollution? There is no doubt that man-made factors can play a causal role in genetic errors that lead to disease. Many studies have demonstrated an association between poor keep reading

In today’s medical fields, lasers are used therapeutically to treat a broad spectrum of disease as well as cosmetic conditions. As summarized by the Johns Hopkins website, lasers are now commonly used to debulk or destroy tumors, to seal blood vessels to diminish blood loss, in some eye surgeries and dental procedures, and to treat skin imperfections or lesions. Clinical use of lasers takes advantage of tissues’ light absorption... keep reading

Wouldn’t it be great if a patient with metastatic cancer could simply have the primary tumor treated—then all the others would miraculously start to disappear? Well, we don’t yet have the such clinical wizardry, but it looks the body itself has such a capacity! It’s called the abscopal effect (pronounced ab-SCOPE-ul). Studies are now revealing keep reading

On a daily basis—probably far more than we are aware—we choose one thing or another based on how we perceive the information we have. This car is better than that car, this tomato is perfect but that tomato looks damaged, clean-shaven looks good on me but a beard looks bad. As an ancient metaphor puts keep reading

“In the 100 years from the mid-15th to the mid-16th century, a combination of circumstances stimulated men to seek new routes, and it was new routes rather than new lands that filled the minds of kings and commoners, scholars and seamen.”– Encyclopedia Britannica When the 15th century launched the Age of Discovery, it was actually keep reading

Once upon a time—November, 1994 to be exact–a team of researchers wanted to compare the effectiveness of radical prostatectomy (RP) vs. observation for men with localized prostate cancer (PCa). They launched a 7-year enrollment period, accruing 731 patients who would be randomly assigned to either radical prostatectomy (removal of prostate gland) or observation. Their study keep reading

The answer to the title question is, it takes collaboration and commitment among several parties who may not have identical interests. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of partial gland treatment for prostate cancer (PCa). After all, a mere 25-30 years ago, a subtotal PCa treatment was unthinkable. At that time, there were keep reading

A family history of prostate or breast cancer is an obvious reason to test for gene mutations that are markers for potentially aggressive PCa. In fact, prostate cancer genomic screening guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommend germline genetic testing with or without genetic counseling for prostate cancer patients who have... keep reading