When it comes to Active Surveillance (AS) decisions, there’s good news and bad news. The good news: based on biopsy results, more doctors are recommending AS for prostate cancer (PCa) patients with insignificant disease. The bad news: the biopsy might have missed significant PCa so the patient can’t know for sure if AS is a keep reading
A new approach to focal treatment for prostate cancer has made its entrance onto the world stage and has patients talking. It is called photodynamic therapy (photo for light, dynamic for action) or PDT. It involves administering a light-sensitive chemical called TOOKAD® by a 10-minute IV injection, which is quickly taken up in the prostate keep reading
Testosterone has important benefits for men. When it’s at a normal level, it helps develop muscle mass, decrease fat, avoid depression, keep bones strong, maintain libido, improve erections, and may help reduce risks of cardiovascular and cognitive disease. However, about 40% of men over the age of 45 have symptoms of reduced blood levels of keep reading
One of the most respected robotic surgeons, Dr. David Samadi, is an active online participant, with regular blogs on relevant prostate cancer topics. The New York Daily News recently (Sep. 22, 2016) carried an article by Dr. Samadi, “Prostate Cancer Means Deciding between Surgery or Radiation.”[i] In talking about the necessity of doing research in keep reading
Cryotherapy, or freezing, is a method of destroying prostate cancer by subjecting the prostate gland to the extreme temperature of -40° Celsius. The procedure, done under anesthesia, consists of using ultrasound image guidance to insert thin hollow needles into the prostate gland through the perineum (skin between the scrotum and anus). When argon gas is keep reading
I read a study on the accuracy of prostate MRI for predicting that no prostate cancer (PCa) is present. This is called the negative predictive value (NPV), and the authors make a great point in their introduction: The reliability of a negative MRI is a key clinical metric – if the MRI is reported as keep reading
When an authoritative person weighs in on a topic, we sit up and take notice. Dr. Ardeshir (Art) Rastinehead is an Interventional Urologic Oncologist and he is impressively credentialed. His experience includes fellowship training at the National Cancer Institute (NIH) with. Peter A. Pinto and Bradford J. Wood, pioneers in the research and development of keep reading
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 reading
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
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 reading