Tag: screening

For the past 10 years, the PSA screening controversy has been driving me crazy. All along, our position at the Sperling Prostate Center has been a constructive middle ground: support annual screening, and back it up with multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) of the prostate. We’ve known all along that the blood test is imperfect because it’s keep reading

One of the best things that ever happened in men’s health was been a steady drop in prostate cancer (PCa) death rates once PSA screening began in the 1990s. Before that, the PCa world was grim because there was no good way to detect early PCa—because it has few-to-no symptoms. Back then, many cases of keep reading

Contrary to popular belief, a new study says you’re never too old to get high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). There’s been a recent trend to cut back on PSA screening for men over age 70. It wasn’t that long ago when such organizations as the American Urological Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology promoted keep reading

Let’s say you never had a problem with ants in your kitchen. Then, one day you spy a single ant zigzagging its way around the floor. You don’t jump to the conclusion that your home is infested, and you can live with a random ant or two. But what if that first ant is a keep reading

Near the end of 2015, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) proposed a mea­sure that would penalize doctors who ordered PSA tests. It would be an economic penalty, in some form of a fine. Aside from being a harsh measure, it would reinforce a trend already noted in published studies: since the US Preventive ...

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When it comes to spending money, you have choices. According to wealthfit.com, “Whether you spend 10 seconds or 10 days weighing a decision, each one comes with strings attached. With each option you choose, you’re saying ‘no’ to a different option. The value of what you do not select is called your opportunity cost. You keep reading

Word is spreading fast that a dietary supplement called 4-MU can stop prostate cancer (PCa) in its tracks. Stories like Fox News Health’s “Dietary Supplement May Prevent and Treat Prostate Cancer, Study Says,” and the bulletin from the... keep reading

Can MRI outperform other screening methods for clinically significant prostate cancer? At the Sperling Prostate Center, we know the answer is yes because we see it with our own eyes. As the saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” Traditionally, the PSA blood test has been used to screen for prostate cancer, and indeed, it has historically keep reading

Most of the things we worry about rarely come to pass as we imagine. However, when the Director of the National Cancer Institute, Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, says he’s worried about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients, there are good grounds for his fears. Dr. Sharpless contributed an editorial, “COVID-19 and Cancer” keep reading

A diabetic man aged 76 with no history of prostate cancer (PCa) comes to his primary care physician (PCP) for his annual wellness visit. (Sidebar: in the good old days they were called physicals, but in today’s Medicare world, they’re annual wellness visits—and yes, there is a difference but that’s for another day.) He fasted keep reading