Prostate cancer specialists in the St. Louis, Missouri area
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Preventing Prostate Cancer in Saint Louis, Missouri
Regretfully, it is very uncommon for someone to think about the necessity of taking precautions against cancer just out of the blue. If you read this article about preventing prostate cancer in Saint Louis, Missouri, it is fairly likely that someone you know has recently been afflicted with it. Most certainly, taking preventative measures against prostate cancer is actually an important thing for men in the Saint Louis area to do, as we reside in an area where it is specifically common for men to die as a result of prostate cancer. If your family has a background of prostate cancer, your chances increase even more.
Irrespective of the reason you have an interest in prostate cancer prevention, you are taking an important and necessary step. Undoubtedly, the medical community has not come behind a single conclusive solution when it come to this topic. A lot of studies have yielded a large variety of results. Nevertheless, the majority of doctors will agree that a few simple diet and lifestyle changes are a good place to get going. It is well worth pointing out that not only are these steps good for men who are trying to prevent prostate cancer, but they are also helpful for guys who have already received a prostate cancer diagnosis in Saint Louis, Missouri.
It ought to come as no surprise to you that cigarette smoking can result in more than merely mouth and throat cancer. Prostate cancer can likewise be a result of that dangerous lifestyle choice. You should never smoke for any reason. If you decide to consume alcoholic beverages, you would be well-served to do so sparingly. Limit how much calcium you take in daily. With vitamins and fortified milk out there along with a lot of foods already rich in calcium, it may be quite easy to overdo it. If you are taking more than 1500 milligrams of calcium per day, you very well could be increasing your prostate cancer risk in Saint Louis, MO. Talking about calcium, a specific quantity of fat from dairy products could be a good thing, but keeping that to a minimum is also a good idea. Red meat can easily have a comparable effect on your prostate cancer risk.
In addition to the things you ought to not be eating, there is additionally an impressive listing of things you can be eating to prevent prostate cancer. Fish might be brain food, but it is also great when it comes to fighting off cancer cells. Integrate lots of fish into your diet. Good vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower are also terrific choices. If you utilize olive oil when you cook, that also has many health and wellness benefits, including a link to preventing prostate cancer. As a last note about your diet, look at what sort of impact your weight may have on your health. As you know, being overweight can cause a myriad of health issues. Maintaining a healthy and balanced weight through a proper diet and exercise is absolutely critical.
This next recommendation might seem a bit corny, but it is more vital than you may think: minimize your stress level and be deliberate about taking pleasure in life. It can be very easy to let things taking place at the office, in your home, or in other areas of your life accumulate until you are seemingly buried in tension. Sometimes men do not like to admit it, but we really need to care about our emotional health. Decreasing stress will have a tangible effect on your probabilities of surviving prostate cancer.
Although doctors may not have reached a unified conclusion regarding how to prevent prostate cancer, everyone will tell you that older men getting regular prostate examinations is absolutely essential to being able to detect the cancer quickly and find appropriate treatment. Similar to all cancers, the quicker we can diagnose prostate cancer in Saint Louis, the better your survivorship longevity is likely to be. If you are a man age fifty or older, you should be getting a yearly rectal examination. If you have certain other risk factors like being African-American or having a family history of prostate cancer, you will want to begin having those annual examinations at age forty.
Without a doubt, cancer will scare anyone. Having said that, know that you have friends at Arch Cancer Care who are prepared and able to assist you with cancer treatment in St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, Chesterfield, or anyplace else in the Saint Louis area. You do not need to go through this journey blindly. They are going to help you by equipping and empowering you for every step you need to take.
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How Do You Know It Is Time For A Prostate Cancer Screening?
You would imagine that there would be one particular definitive guideline regarding when men ought to begin getting prostate cancer screenings, but that is not the case. Some doctors will tell you to begin obtaining routine screenings at seventy years old. Others are going to say to begin getting screenings when you are fifty. Even though routine cancer screenings are very important for older men to get, do not be under the misunderstanding that you can completely ignore the possibility of prostate cancer until you achieve a certain age. There are so many more prostate cancer risk factors to take into account. To genuinely determine everything you need to know about prostate cancer, seek advice from a prostate cancer specialist in Saint Louis. Until that time, have a look at these prostate cancer risk factor tips brought to you by Arch Cancer Care, with information from the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Notice warning signs. Regrettably, there often aren't any early warning signs for prostate cancer. A developing prostate tumor usually does not press against anything to cause pain, so the disease may well be silent for many years. Nonetheless, there are specific signs and symptoms you should bring to your physician's attention. Sometimes, prostate cancer can induce symptoms that include:
A need to urinate often, particularly at night, in some cases urgently
Difficulty starting or holding back urination
Weak, dribbling, or disrupted flow of urine
Painful or burning urination
Difficulty in having an erection
A decrease in the amount of fluid ejaculated
Painful ejaculation
Blood within the urine or semen
Pressure or pain in the anus
Pain or tightness in the lower back, hips, pelvis, or thighs
Sudden onset of any one of these symptoms merits a call to your physician.
Always keep the discussion open. Sharing health details can really feel uncomfortable. Lots of people feel that their health is a private matter, and lots of people feel ashamed about their health troubles. In some families and cultures, it's essentially taboo to talk about problems. It's normal to feel a need for privacy around your overall health, but the very first person in a family to learn they carry a mutation may present the greatest possible gift to their children, their siblings, and their cousins whenever they share that understanding.
The latest cancer research, including research studies financed in part by PCF, has uncovered much new relevant information pertaining to the interplay between genes, cancer, and cancer treatments. Lots of forms of cancer are a lot more widespread in people with certain genetic mutations, so if you learn that a blood relation is experiencing one of these cancers-- even if they are the very first or only family member diagnosed-- you should start a conversation with your physician about ramping up your own screening regimen or ordering a genetic test.
Genetic tests are very new, but they represent a terrific chance to get ahead of cancer for people living in Chesterfield, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, and the encompassing area. A few of the newest cancer treatments are even keyed to particular anomalies. Watch for breast, ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers particularly, as these are known to arise in households sharing certain genetic anomalies. Scientists have determined that people who carry a given mutation might benefit from a particular drug, while another may do little for them. If you're from one of those households that has traditionally stayed hush about illness, you have a chance to turn the tide and improve the health of the entire family.
Success in addressing prostate cancer can depend upon early detection. But the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer could be subtle, and lots of prostate cancers are slow-moving. Many men have absolutely no reason to believe anything is wrong, but learn they have cancer immediately after a routine screening. This is why a thoughtfully-designed screening plan ought to keep you on a positive path to lasting prostate health.
Seek advice from a specialist. As you enter middle age, be proactive and ask your doctor for their recommendations on developing a prostate cancer screening schedule that makes sense for you, given your risk factors and your family history. Precisely when you start screening depends on a lot of factors, based on incidence rates amongst different populaces. These are questions to take into consideration in establishing a proactive prostate cancer screening regimen that works for you:
Do you have a family history of prostate, ovarian, breast, colon, or pancreatic cancers amongst your male and female relatives?
Do you have African ancestral roots?
How old are you?
Where do you reside?
As soon as you reach midlife, do not let prostate cancer slide to the back of your mind until you have spoken with a prostate cancer specialist in Saint Louis, MO pertaining to your cancer treatment plan. If you do not presently have a cancer specialist that you visit, take into consideration visiting Arch Cancer Care. They have been helping the people of Saint Louis, Saint Charles, Saint Peters, and Florissant, MO for many years with all of their urological health care needs.
Information by the Prostate Cancer Foundation
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Prostate Cancer In Saint Louis, MO
Prostate cancer is a critical issue for lots of men in the St. Louis, MO area. If prostate cancer cells are found in tests, the pathologist reviews tissue samples from the prostate beneath a microscope to report the grade of the tumor. The grade shows how much the tumor tissue differs from typical prostate tissue. It suggests how quickly the tumor is likely to grow.
Tumors with higher grades often develop more quickly than those with lower grades. They're also more prone to spread. Doctors use tumor grade and your age and other factors to suggest treatment options.
One system of grading is with the Gleason score. Gleason scores vary from 2 to 10. To come up with the Gleason score, the pathologist uses a microscope to examine the patterns of cells within the prostate tissue. The most prevalent pattern is given a grade of 1 (most like normal cells) to 5 (most abnormal). If there is a second most common pattern, the pathologist gives it a grade of 1 to 5, and adds the two most common grades together to make the Gleason score. If just one pattern is observed, the pathologist counts it twice. For instance, 5 + 5 = 10. A higher Gleason score (particularly 10) means a high-grade prostate tumor. High-grade tumors are more likely than low-grade tumors to develop quickly and spread. Another system of grading prostate cancer uses stages 1 through 4.
These are the stages of prostate cancer:
Stage I: The cancer cannot be felt during a digital rectal exam, and it can't be seen on a sonogram. It's found by accident when surgery is performed for another reason, usually for BPH. The cancer is only in the prostate. The grade is G1, or the Gleason score isn't any above 4.
Stage II: The growth is more advanced or a higher grade than Stage I, but the tumor doesn't extend past the prostate. It might be felt during a digital rectal exam, or it might be seen on a sonogram.
Stage III: The tumor extends beyond the prostate. The tumor could have invaded the seminal vesicles, but cancer cells haven't spread to the lymph nodes.
Stage IV: The tumor may have invaded the bladder, rectum, or nearby structures (past the seminal vesicles). It might have spread to the lymph nodes, bones, or to other parts of the body.
The treatment that is right for you is dependent primarily on your age, the grade of the tumor (the Gleason score), the number of biopsy tissue samples which contain cancer cells, the stage of the cancer, your symptoms, and your general health. Your doctor can describe your treatment choices, the anticipated outcomes of each, and the potential side effects. You and the doctor can work together to create a treatment plan that fits your medical and personal needs. If you are living in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, or Chesterfield, Missouri and don't have a Saint Louis cancer specialist, consider going to Arch Cancer Care in St. Louis, Missouri.
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Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
The treatment that is right for you is dependent chiefly on your age, the grade of the tumor (the Gleason score), the number of biopsy tissue samples which contain cancer cells, the stage of the cancer, your symptoms, and your overall health. Your doctor can describe your treatment choices, the expected results of each, and the potential side effects. You and your physician can work together to develop a treatment plan that fits your medical and personal needs. That's why Arch Cancer Care has put together this list of prostate cancer treatment options for the people of St. Louis, St. Charles, O'Fallon, St. Peters, Florissant, Manchester, and Chesterfield, MO.
Active Surveillance
You may pick active surveillance if the risks and potential side effects of treatment outweigh the potential benefits. Your doctor may recommend active surveillance if you are diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer that seems to be gradually growing. Your doctor may also offer this option if you are older or have other significant health issues.
Choosing active surveillance doesn't mean you are giving up. It means you are putting off the side effects of surgery or radiation therapy. Having surgery or radiation therapy isn't guarantee that a man will live longer than a man who opts to put off treatment.
If you and your doctor concur that active surveillance is a great idea, your doctor will check you frequently (such as every 3 to 6 months, at first). After about twelve months, your doctor may order another biopsy to determine the Gleason score. You may begin treatment if your Gleason score rises, your PSA level starts to rise, or you develop symptoms. You will receive surgery, radiation therapy, or another approach.
Active surveillance avoids or delays the negative side effects of surgery and radiation therapy, but this choice has risks. For certain men, it may decrease the chance to control cancer before it spreads. Also, it may be more difficult to cope with surgery or radiation therapy when you're older.
If you select active surveillance but grow concerned later on, you ought to discuss your feelings with your doctor. Another approach is an option for most men.
Surgery
Surgery is a choice for men in the St. Louis area with early (Stage I or II) prostate cancer. It's sometimes an option for men with Stage III or IV prostate cancer. The surgeon may remove the entire prostate or only part of it.
Before the surgeon removes the prostate, the lymph nodes in the pelvis may be taken out. If prostate cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes, the disease might have spread to other areas of the body. If cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the surgeon doesn't always remove the prostate and might suggest other kinds of treatment.
There are several kinds of surgery for prostate cancer. Each type has benefits and risks. You and your physician can talk about the types of surgery and which could be right for you:
Open surgery: The surgeon makes a big incision (cut) into your body to take out the tumor. There are two main approaches:
Through the abdomen: The surgeon removes the entire prostate by way of cut into the abdomen. This is what's called a radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Between the scrotum and anus: The surgeon removes the whole prostate through cut between the scrotum and the anus. This is called a radical perineal prostatectomy.
Laparoscopic prostatectomy: The surgeon gets rid of the entire prostate through little cuts, instead of single long cut in the abdomen. A thin, lighted tube (a laparoscope) helps the surgeon remove the prostate.
Robotic laparoscopic surgery: The surgeon gets rid of the whole prostate by using small cuts. A laparoscope and a robot are utilized to help take out the prostate. The surgeon utilizes handles below a computer display to control the robot's arms.
Cryosurgery: For some men, cryosurgery is an option. The surgeon implants a tool via little cut between the scrotum and anus. The tool freezes and kills prostate tissue. Cryosurgery is under study.
TURP: A man with advanced prostate cancer may choose TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) to relieve symptoms. The surgeon inserts a long, thin scope through the urethra. A cutting tool at the end of the scope removes tissue from the inside of the prostate. TURP may not remove all of the cancer, but it can get rid of tissue that blocks the flow of urine.
Surgery can damage the nerves around the prostate. Damaging these nerves can make a man impotent (not able to have an erection). Oftentimes, your surgeon can protect the nerves that control erection. But if you have a large tumor or a tumor that is extremely close to the nerves, surgery may cause impotence. Impotence can be permanent. You can consult with your doctor about medicine and other ways to help deal with the sexual side effects of cancer treatment.
If your prostate is removed, you will no longer produce semen. You will have dry orgasms. If you 'd like to father children, you might consider sperm banking or a sperm retrieval procedure before surgery.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is an option for men with any phase of prostate cancer. Men with early stage prostate cancer might decide on radiation therapy instead of surgery. It also might be utilized following surgery to destroy any cancer cells which stay in the area. In later stages of prostate cancer, radiation treatment might be used to help relieve pain.
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. It impacts cells only in the treated area. Doctors utilize two types of radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer. Some men get both types:
External radiation: The radiation comes from a large machine outside the body. You will go to a hospital or clinic for treatment. Treatments are usually five days a week for a couple of weeks. Many men receive 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy. These types of treatment use computers to more closely target the cancer to minimize the damage to healthy tissue close to the prostate.
Internal radiation (implant radiation or brachytherapy): The radiation comes from radioactive material generally contained in really small implants called seeds. Dozens of seeds are positioned inside needles, and the needles are inserted into the prostate. The needles are taken out, leaving the seeds behind. The seeds give off radiation for months. They do not need to be taken out once the radiation goes away.
Both external and internal radiation may cause impotence. You can talk with your doctor about ways to help deal with this side effect.
Hormone Therapy
A man with prostate cancer may have hormone therapy before, during, or following radiation therapy. Hormone therapy is also used alone for prostate cancer that has returned following treatment.
Male hormones (androgens) can cause prostate cancer to grow. Hormone therapy keeps prostate cancer cells from getting the male hormones they need to grow. The testicles are the body's primary source of the male hormone testosterone. The adrenal gland makes other male hormones and a small amount of testosterone.
Hormone therapy utilizes drugs or surgery:
Drugs: Your doctor might suggest a drug which can block natural hormones:
Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonists: These drugs can prevent the testicles from creating testosterone. Examples are leuprolide, goserelin, and triptorelin. The testosterone level falls gradually. Without testosterone, the tumor shrinks, or its growth slows. These drugs are also called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists.
Antiandrogens: These drugs can block the action of male hormones. Examples include flutamide, bicalutamide, and nilutamide.
Other drugs: Some drugs may prevent the adrenal gland from making testosterone. Examples are ketoconazole and aminoglutethimide.
Surgery: Surgery to get rid of the testicles is called orchiectomy.
After orchiectomy or treatment with an LH-RH agonist, your body no longer gets testosterone from the testicles, the biggest source of male hormones. Because the adrenal gland makes small quantities of male hormones, you may receive an antiandrogen to block the action of the male hormones that remain. This combination of treatments is known as total androgen blockade (also called combined androgen blockade). However, studies have shown that total androgen blockade is no more beneficial than surgery or an LH-RH agonist alone.
Doctors usually treat prostate cancer which has spread to other areas of the body with hormone therapy. For some men, the cancer will be handled for two or three years, but others will have a much shorter reaction to hormone therapy. With time, most prostate cancers can grow with hardly any or no male hormones, and hormone therapy alone is simply not helpful. At that time, your physician might advise chemotherapy or other kinds of treatment which are under study. In many cases, the doctor may suggest continuing with hormone therapy since it may still be effective against some of the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be used for prostate cancer that has spread and no longer responds to hormone therapy.
Clearly, there are lots of prostate cancer treatment options in Chesterfield, St. Peters, O'Fallon, or Manchester, MO. If you would like to have an initial consultation or a second opinion from a prostate cancer specialist, Arch Cancer Care is the right place to go.
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When You Have Prostate Cancer, Could Radiation Therapy Be The Right Treatment?
Most people have been aware of radiation therapy before, mainly with regards to prostate cancer. However, very few people really know what occurs with radiation therapy in Saint Louis, MO. In essence, the idea behind radiation therapy is to pinpoint the cancerous cells with the radiation, thus stopping them from multiplying. Naturally, the other goal is to not have an effect on the healthy cells if at all possible.
These objectives are achieved a variety of different ways. When many people imagine radiation therapy, they generally think of the method in which radiation is introduced in the body from a machine outside the body. While that is surely a very popular method, it is not actually the only method. Another form of prostate cancer treatment entails putting radiated materials straight into the prostate cancer. Both of them have applications in particular instances. It takes the view of a professional to determine which is correct for your specific case of prostate cancer. If you want all the information you need to have on the important subject of prostate cancer radiation therapy, your best choice is to go see a specialist like those at Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, MO. Nonetheless, this short article put out by Arch Cancer Care should help you begin to find out more about this essential step in prostate cancer treatment.
As previously specified, the majority of people only have an ambiguous idea of exactly what radiation therapy is. When most people consider it, they most likely think about some kind of science fiction contraption doing all kinds of intrusive things to them. However, that image could not be further from the truth. Truthfully, radiation therapy basically involves laying on a table in a posture ordered by a radiation therapist, who then leaves the room and starts the therapy. All you have to do is keep still while the machine does its job. The machine does not even touch you or anything. The technician will likely alter your position a number of times in order to irradiate the cancer tissues correctly. This same treatment will be performed each weekday for about five to eight weeks, depending on your prostate cancer specialist's recommendation.
Besides showing up for your treatment, there is one other very huge thing you need to bear in mind to take full advantage of the effect of your treatment. You positively need to have a suitable diet to make the treatment as affective as you can. It is not simply a matter of changing out the chocolate cake for carrots either. You need to get over the tendency to not eat that often accompanies radiation therapy. A reduction of desire for food is one leading side effect you can anticipate. However, you can not permit that to stop you from getting the nutrition you need to adapt to the radiation and also to fight the cancer. If you have difficulty with the nutritional aspect of the treatment, your urology specialist might suggest a dietician to help you.
Naturally, the majority of cancer patients are most concerned about the possibility of other side effects. That is certainly one thing you have to be prepared for. Among the most common series of side effects is skin irritations. The skin layer directly exposed to radiation might become reddish, swollen, sensitive, or start to peel. That is completely normal. As a matter of fact, it will not feel any different than a run-of-the-mill sunburn. Also like a sunburn, the irritation is just temporary. Interestingly, the appropriate way to reduce the intenseness of the irritation is extremely similar to how you might treat a sunburn. For starters, attempt to stay clear of excessive exposure to the sun. That may greatly heighten the irritation. Also, you may think about using creams, lotions, and mild soaps to the afflicted area. Obviously, try not to additionally irritate the affected area, either by scratching or by donning scratchy fabrics.
One more side effect of radiation treatment is a reduction of your energy level. Although this may seem particularly bothersome, it is very important to remember that finding the very best prostate cancer treatment in Saint Louis has to be your primary issue. If that treatment involves radiation therapy, you are most likely going to feel somewhat fatigued because of this. Along with feeling the fatigue during therapy, you will also feel it for a couple of weeks later on as your body recovers. Usually, the tiredness is not as bad as you may think for something as extreme as radiation therapy. No matter the degree of fatigue you feel, there are steps you can take in order to reduce its effect on your life. Of course, try to get a suitable amount of rest each night. Going to bed a little earlier could do miracles for you the next morning. Additionally, you can get back to the former paragraph about a healthy diet plan. That too could help you reduce your fatigue. Most notably, realize that your life will not be like it was prior to your treatment. Of course, the fatigue is going to fade away a few weeks following treatment, but be prepared to change your way of living temporarily to conform to the treatment's impact on your body.
Radiation treatment for your prostate cancer may be a really scary prospect. That is why it is so crucial to surround yourself with a group of individuals who can help you make the appropriate choices regarding prostate cancer treatment. For prostate cancer patients in Saint Louis, Arch Cancer Care is the clear place to go. They have years of experience within this field and they strive daily to provide their patients the information they need to make decisions involving their prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. If you have prostate cancer, please give them a phone call or visit www.archcancercare.com to set up an appointment.
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An Easy Overview Of Prostate Cancer Staging
Once prostate cancer spreads, it is frequently found in nearby lymph nodes. If cancer has already reached these nodes, it also may have spread to other lymph nodes, the bones, or other organs. If you'd like to know more about this important topic, continue reading this article from Arch Cancer Care in St. Louis, MO.
When cancer spreads from its original place to some other part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. For example, if prostate cancer spreads to bones, the cancer cells in the bones are in reality prostate cancer cells. The disease is metastatic prostate cancer, not bone cancer. For that reason, it is treated like prostate cancer, not bone cancer. Doctors call the new tumor "distant" or metastatic disease.
These are the stages of prostate cancer:
Stage I: The cancer cannot be felt in a digital rectal exam, and it cannot be seen on a sonogram. It's found by chance when surgery is done for another reason, usually for BPH. The cancer is exclusively within the prostate. The grade is G1, or the Gleason score is no higher than 4.
Stage II: The tumor is a bit more advanced or a higher grade than Stage I, but the tumor doesn't extend beyond the prostate. It may be felt in a digital rectal exam, or it might be seen on a sonogram.
Stage III: The tumor expands beyond the prostate. The tumor might have invaded the seminal vesicles, but cancer cells haven't spread to the lymph nodes.
Stage IV: The tumor might have invaded the bladder, rectum, or nearby structures (past the seminal vesicles). It may have spread to the lymph nodes, bones, or to other parts of the body.
People in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, MO have to know about prostate cancer staging and exactly how it can affect them. If you live in or around those cities and would like to know more, visit Arch Cancer Care for the information and solutions that you need.
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Is Prostate Cancer Treatable?
For men who learn that they have prostate cancer, it is difficult to determine what to do. They would like to know if the condition is treatable and how so that they can work towards healing. If that is you, please read this article from Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, MO. Prostate cancer patients inside the Saint Louis area will be happy they read this important article about how to get the cancer treatment they need.
The outlook for men diagnosed with prostate cancer has never been brighter. Physicians now have a variety of ways to handle prostate cancer, including surgery, radiation, and drugs which slow the growth of cancer cells. Both the safety and effectiveness of prostate cancer treatments has been gradually improving.
That's great news, of course. However with so many separate approaches to prostate cancer treatment, each with its very own benefits and risks, weighing your options and choosing the most appropriate treatment may be complicated. The best treatment for each and every man is dependent on his stage of cancer and how aggressively the cancer cells are growing. For example, a man with early prostate cancer which is slow growing might opt for watchful waiting. Another man with early prostate cancer which is growing aggressively might choose surgery plus radiation, or some other mixture of therapies.
Here are the fundamentals you should know about the leading treatments for prostate cancer.
Does Watchful Waiting Work For Prostate Cancer?
As a result of screening and early detection, numerous prostate cancers are first detected long before they pose a threat. Indeed, many of the cancers spotted by PSA tests and biopsies prove to be very early cancers or so slow-growing that they never pose a life-threatening danger.
Due to early diagnosis, the best approach for a growing number of men is to keep track of the cancer for indications that it is worsening. Called active surveillance or "watchful waiting," this technique makes it possible for men with early-stage or very slow growing prostate cancer to avoid treatment and its adverse effects-- or actively monitor the disease and to take action if the cancer grows or spreads.
Believe it or not, many men are well suited for the watchful waiting strategy, some estimates indicate that as many as forty percent fall under that category. Men who might be best for this method include those for whom the prostate cancer is detected early, those who might be especially detrimentally affected by surgical treatment or radiation due to poor health, and the elderly.
Naturally, watchful waiting is not some last resort for when nothing else will work. It can often stop someone from obtaining a treatment that might not work or may be unneeded. Let's not ignore the "watchful" part of "watchful waiting." Those utilizing this method will be very carefully observed with PSA tests, ultrasounds, CT scans, bone scans, rectal exams, imaging, and follow-up biopsies at the discernment of your physician. That is the reason why they also call it "active surveillance." It is a deceptively active technique. All of that is designed to lead you to the most ideal next step, if one is required. Some men who do watchful waiting discover that they do not require any further treatment whatsoever.
Is Radiation Prostate Cancer Treatment My Only Option?
When it comes to prostate cancer treatment, most people's minds are going to leap immediately to radiation treatment. Those same minds will almost always jump to the very worst case scenario of terrible side effects. Definitely, there are some very tragic cases where folks are negatively affected by radiation treatment. However, there have been a considerable amount of extremely promising advances in this technology which particularly targets the cancer cells, making the treatment more effective while minimizing the chance for adverse effects.
Here are a few of the choices which will be offered to you:
Radioactive Seed Implants: This treatment calls for little radioactive metal "seeds" to be surgically implanted into the prostate gland. In time, the seeds release radiation over a significant time period. Usually, this method may be really effective at shielding the rectum from harm, but the radioactive seed method can impact urinary and sexual function.
External Beam Radiation: This is what the majority of people think about whenever they think of radiation therapy. For five days a week for approximately eight weeks, the patient is going to be subjected to approximately 20 minutes of high-energy x-rays. While that might seem very painful, it is in fact not painful at all. Nevertheless, common side effects of this type of treatment may consist of impaired sexual and urinary function, fatigue, loss of appetite, and urinary or anal bleeding.
Proton Therapy: This is quite similar to the aforementioned external beam radiation, but it employs a different variety of beam which may at times reach deeper tissues.
What Can Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy Do For Me?
Just like anything else, prostate cancer requires something to feed on to grow. Depriving prostate cancer of testosterone and some other key hormones is practically the same thing as taking away its food. Even though this treatment will not entirely eliminate the cancer, it will stymie development of the tumor and possibly reduce its size. Although it could result in some very promising results for you, you might wish to know that you may experience fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, and a loss of sex drive or perhaps impotence.
Hormone therapy may be boiled down to three prevalent treatments. Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) is an injection provided monthly or annually and may be given for life if no other treatment is pursued. Anti-Androgens are given in pill form together with other treatments. Orchiectomy is when the testicles are surgically removed in order to significantly decrease the production of testosterone.
What About Surgical Options For Prostate Cancer?
Most people are not aware of the broad array of surgical options available to men with prostate cancer. Undoubtedly, each of these procedures possess their own benefits and dangers and therefore have certain applications depending upon your condition. The professionals at Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, MO have substantial expertise and can help you discover the treatment that would be best for you.
Nerve-Sparing Surgery: This is a very delicate procedure which consists of cutting away the prostate tissue directly while very carefully avoiding the adjacent nerve bundles without causing them any sort of damage. The advantage of this particular procedure is that it can often prevent any damage to erection capabilities, but the drawback is that it is a really challenging procedure and it calls for a very competent surgeon.
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound: This surgery is basically like radiation treatment on steroids. It includes pounding the affected area with high-energy ultrasound waves. In theory, the cancer cells ought to be totally destroyed.
Open Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy: This is one of the most common options for prostate cancer surgery. Essentially, the surgeon creates an incision to eliminate the prostate and the lymph nodes encompassing it to guarantee that the cancer is completely removed. Although urinary and sexual function can frequently be protected, this particular operation requires a stay of a minimum of a couple of days in the hospital and often a temporary urinary catheter.
Radical Perineal Prostatectomy: This surgery has the same basic idea of the open radical retropubic prostatectomy, however the incision is made within the area in between the anus and the scrotum. This technique results in less bleeding, but it only works if the prostate cancer is limited to the prostate itself.
Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: Once again, this has the same basic idea of the open radical retropubic prostatectomy, however with this procedure a number of small incisions are made into the abdominal area.
Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: While depending on technology for something like this might seem quite unnerving, a competent surgeon can use this prostate cancer surgery in Saint Louis, MO to result in a much shorter hospital stay and a much faster recovery time.
Cryosurgery: This approach is a newer method which has not been adopted on a wide scale. Basically, this technique relies on very small tubes of liquid nitrogen being passed across the cancerous area in order to freeze off the cancer. While this operation can make it possible for the patient to leave the hospital on the day of the surgical treatment, it is not more commonly accepted due to the fact that there is a quite elevated chance of damage to the rectum or urethra because of the unpredictable nature of cryosurgery.
If you live in Saint Louis and you or someone you know has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you have to realize that there are lots of prostate cancer treatments in Saint Louis, MO. Please arrange an appointment to learn just what options could be right for you. Prostate cancer is not a little something you can manage on your own. The professionals at Arch Cancer Care are going to give you the tools you require to take the next step.
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Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: What Happens Now?
Immediately after you have been diagnosed with something as considerable as prostate cancer, you will most likely have all kinds of questions, the least of which is the question of where to proceed from there. If you find yourself with prostate cancer in Saint Louis, Missouri, Arch Cancer Care would like you to be familiar with some questions you ought to be asking yourself as you move forward to potential treatment.
What is there to know about prostate cancer and prostate cancer treatment?
The majority of men with prostate cancer are going to fall into one of two categories whenever they are diagnosed with prostate cancer: either they ignore it and hope it goes away or they go into overdrive and try to learn everything there is to find out about the condition. This is not the sort of situation to take lightly, so information is a good thing. If you are reading this article, you probably already recognize that. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that you should not go into overdrive either. The temptation is to stress and make decisions without really putting in the time to think about them since you are so eager to get on the road to feeling better. Do not fall into that trap. Most men with prostate cancer have the time to carefully gather the information they require and make an informed and thought out judgment.
What are the side effects I could be subjected to?
Prostate cancer is a different experience for everyone, so the side effects another experiences might not be what you experience. To a significant extent, it is hard to anticipate what your specific side effects might be. However, there are some common side effects which you ought to be aware of because the probability of them might influence your decisions pertaining to treatment. To begin with, prostate cancer can lead to such problems as losing control of your bladder or difficulty getting erections. Please talk with a Saint Louis prostate cancer specialist to learn more.
Do I want to pursue treatment?
Once you have information about prostate cancer itself and its possible side effects, you should move on to considering what treatment is ideal for you, if any. For certain cases, the most intelligent thing is actually to take the active surveillance approach, which is where you do not take any particular course of treatment but have consistent meetings with your doctor to monitor the disease's activity. Undoubtedly, you do not wish to choose something like this without the insight of a physician. Needless to say, there are lots of other prostate cancer treatment options to think about too, so please see your prostate cancer specialist for a full picture.
What doctor should I go to?
For many men, the battle against prostate cancer is a lengthy and exhausting one. That means you are going to form a very personal relationship with the doctor and staff which you decide to go to. Thus, you should think long and hard about your options. You can not visit any doctor for this kind of specialized care either. You are going to want to go to a team of prostate cancer specialists such as Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, MO. Individually consult with any doctors you are considering to help you determine if you are comfortable with their personality and competency. Keep in mind, choosing the best prostate cancer specialist will be one of the most important decisions you make in this entire process.
Who else needs to be on my support team?
Prostate cancer is not a little something you can face alone. In fact, you are going to need far more than a physician to have a healthy healing process. You need to form a support network of friends and family to come around you and assist. If you are not comfortable with something like that, think about heading to a professional counselor or any one of the various cancer therapy groups that are around the Saint Louis area. The important thing is to get help.
Prostate cancer is not a thing to take lightly. You need to ask yourself all of these questions and more once your prostate cancer diagnosis is done. If you are prepared to take the next step, please look at a visit to Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, MO. They have many years of experience helping the men of Saint Louis with cancer treatment and other important parts of the process to healing.
Info Credit: WebMD
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What Does It Feel Like For Someone in Saint Louis With Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer is a very serious condition with life altering effects. That probably comes as no surprise to you since everyone's ears burn when they hear the word cancer in Saint Louis, MO. Everybody knows someone who has been impacted by it. It can result in discomfort, pain, a change of lifestyle, or even death. With that being said, it is vital for you to understand the symptoms of prostate cancer so that you can visit a Saint Louis area cancer specialist if you have need to believe that you may be affected with it. Arch Cancer Care, which serves Saint Louis, St Charles, St Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, Missouri, has offered the following information so you may be aware of this significant health threat.
Interestingly, there actually are no early warning indicators of the very beginning phases of prostate cancer. The very first you will be able to detect prostate cancer without the help of a Saint Louis doctor will be whenever the cancer cells spread outside the prostate itself. In that situation, the obstruction in the prostate due to the spread of the cancerous cells will bring about a number of prostate cancer symptoms. Here's what you might experience when that takes place:
The presence of blood within urine or semen
A burning feeling when you urinate or ejaculate
An urgency to urinate frequently at night or otherwise
An incapacity to urinate while standing up
A difficulty starting or ending a urine stream
A leaking of urine when you laugh or cough
When the cancer spreads out even further, you will experience a number of symptoms a lot more directly related to the prostate cancer itself. Those signs and symptoms might include:
Weakness or even paralysis of your lower arms and legs
Swelling fingers
Nausea, fatigue, or a loss of appetite
A dull, deep pain in your hip, back, ribs, thighs, and, more particularly, within the bones around those areas of your body
At some point, you will have to decide if it is time to take action on your prospective prostate cancer and seek St. Louis prostate cancer treatment. If you are trying to decide when that time has come, consider trying to find these effects in particular:
Inexplicable weight loss
Swelling legs
Chronic pain in bones such as your lower back, hip, or upper thighbones
Chronic trouble urinating (this may not be cancerous but a Saint Louis urologist ought to check it out regardless)
It should go without saying that cancer is not anything to mess around with. Prostate cancer is no exception. If you are looking for a place that provides Saint Louis prostate cancer diagnosis, please think about Arch Cancer care. They serve the cancer treatment needs of Saint Louis, Saint Charles, and Saint Peters, MO.
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Options With Prostate Cancer Staging
Whenever you are attempting to figure out the appropriate treatment option for your prostate cancer, being acquainted with prostate cancer staging is an absolute necessity. If you are planning to talk about prostate cancer treatment choices with your Saint Louis physician, it would be a great idea to review this article so you understand how best to ask the right questions and make the very best decisions relating to treatment. If you do not know the stage of your prostate cancer, consider visiting Arch Cancer Care to talk to a certified specialist.
The stages of prostate cancer are determined significantly by the spreading of the cancer within and without the prostate gland at that time of diagnosis. When trying to identify the stage of your prostate cancer, your physician will do a number of tests to gauge its progression, including a transrectal ultrasound, a digital rectal examination, a blood test, an MRI of the prostate or skeleton, a CT scan, or even a small preliminary surgery. When the cancer does spread outside of the prostate, it will do this in one of three ways. The three techniques include transmission by blood, transmission by lymph nodes, and direct transmission to surrounding tissues. The transmission of malignant cells plays a big part in the prostate cancer diagnosis, staging, and subsequential treatment.
Prostate cancer staging is mainly divided into four main classifications. However, it would be a misstep to undercut the all-important TNM system. TNM, which stands for tumor, nodes, and metastasis, tells the spread of the cancer in three primary areas. Tumor pertains to the size of the main tumor in the prostate. Nodes refers to whether or not the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes and to what extent. Metastasis refers to the spread of the cancer into other areas of the body outside of the prostate and lymph nodes.
Knowing the three areas of the TNM system, let us go through the four stages of prostate cancer and a few of the circumstances which will surround those stages.
In Stage I, the cancer has not grown past the microscopic level. The tumor can not have enveloped greater than one half of one lobe of the prostate.
In Stage II, the cancer still has not spread outside of the prostate. It may have extended all throughout the prostate, but not outside of it.
In Stage III, the prostate cancer may have spread out of the prostate. However, the cancer can not have gone to distant tissue by means of the blood or lymph node methods.
In Stage IV, the prostate cancer has spread to distant tissues as well as throughout the prostate itself.
Though it may seem like a hassle to go through all the different tests that your doctor may recommend, it is worth it to get the best diagnosis on your prostate cancer staging. If you want to speak with a specialist about your prostate cancer stage, think about scheduling an appointment with Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, serving Saint Charles, Saint Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, Missouri.
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Michael G. Beat, MD, MPH, MBA Speaks About Leadership As A Cancer Specialist
Radiation oncologist Michael G. Beat, MD, has been medical director of Arch Cancer Care for the last seven years. He leads a crew of healthcare specialists specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer. He previously was chief of radiation oncology at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and was a partner with St. Louis Cancer & Breast Institute.
Aside from his practice, Dr. Beat provides leadership through committee service with the US Oncology Network and the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk. He is a board member of The Empowerment Network, a support organization for men with prostate cancer.
"Having the ability to engage a diverse group of people with unique talents and unify them in a fashion that produces a functional team or organization ... motivates me to lead."
He has taken a leadership role with the Medical Society as chair of the ad hoc Innovation Committee pledged to supporting life science and medical startup companies. He took part in the SLMMS Council in 2016.
A member of the 2015 SLMMS Physician Leadership Institute class, he also has received leadership training from the US Oncology Network, via his service as a U.S. Army physician, and throughout his studies for his MPH and MBA degrees.
What attracts you to leadership, and what exactly do you find fulfilling?
I acknowledge that my individual efforts at patient care (or any venture) are confined in their effectiveness by sheer time, energy and resources. Being able to engage an unique group of individuals with unique talents and unify them in a fashion that creates a functional team or organization-- one that can create a superior product or provide optimal patient care which I would not be able to supply by myself-- motivates me to lead.
How is physician leadership training beneficial to you today?
It is very difficult to affect an individual's personality, but one can modify their behavior with the appropriate persuasive incentives. In order to achieve that goal, one will need to have an ability to adapt their own leadership style to efficiently manage many different circumstances and situations. This requires a clear understanding of the strategic goals of an organization. Without having that guiding vision, leading change simply reverts to managing chaos and crisis.
In today's urological healthcare environment, why is it more important that physicians possess leadership skills? Do we require more physicians in leadership roles?
Change always has and always will be unavoidable. We can commonly foresee the (healthcare, technology, regulatory) changes coming, but all too frequently just react to the new developments instead of proactively preparing for the transition or even engaging and pursuing altering the trajectory of those changes. Physician leadership duties-- particularly through national and local coordinated medicine activities like SLMMS-- are very important channels to claim some possession and responsibility in shaping today's and tomorrow's health care environment.
What are the essential attributes of a good physician leader?
We frequently get so involved with the acute concerns of our patients and the day-to-day details of their health and wellness, that it might be a difficult transition to step back and take a look at the bigger picture over a longer time frame. One should think smartly about the future and critically analyze the performance of our past. Other essential components of physician leadership are collaborative communication, team development, and efficient delegation and supervision. The delivery of optimal individual patient or population health today depends on a team effort. Physicians are well fit to direct these tasks and rather accustomed to giving (or composing) orders, but we may have to develop additional skill sets to more effectively function in these leadership roles.
What advice would you provide physicians aspiring to leadership roles?
Gain a high-level overview of the many different aspects of physician leadership available. This gives a platform from which to tailor additional training or refine and formulate entry into some other leadership role. If you don't like an important aspect of our health care profession or are worried about the direction medicine is moving, get involved at another leadership level and work to lead the change. If we as physician leaders do not participate in the process, somebody else will make the decisions for us.
Leadership in the medical field is no easy task. However, Arch Cancer Care in Saint Louis, Missouri provides a team of professionals to preserve the urological health of Saint Louis, Saint Charles, Saint Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, Missouri. If you are ready to discuss bladder cancer, prostate cancer, or testicular cancer treatment, think about visiting Arch Cancer Care to talk about your treatment choices.
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A Patient's Guide To Prostate Cancer Stages
You'll find all kinds of prostate cancer staging systems which are used in various scenarios and for various purposes. To explain them in adequate depth would take pages upon pages of material. However, the TNM system for the American Joint Committee on Cancer is certainly the most ubiquitous system in use at present. For this reason, Arch Cancer Care in St. Louis, MO has assembled this short article about prostate cancer staging for St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, MO residents with prostate cancer.
Whenever your doctor considers your case and helps you prepare choices regarding prostate cancer treatment, the most important thing they'll examine will be your stage. It's obviously the most crucial factor in how your next move is decided. Your prostate cancer stage will be determined by a variety of examinations which will tell how far the cancer has spread, and also your blood PSA level at diagnosis and the outcomes of a prostate biopsy.
Specifically for the TNM system, your stage will be affected by the extent of the main tumor (T), whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes (N), whether the cancer has spread into other parts of the body (M), along with the PSA level and outcomes of a prostate biopsy.
The T Category
Remember, the T category is dependent upon the scope of the primary tumor. This category is further sub-divided into four more categories.
T1: at this point, the prostate cancer is so small that the doctor won't be able to detect it by feeling it or by viewing a transrectal ultrasound. A T1a means that the cancer was discovered inadvertently while operating to get rid of a benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is not in and of itself malignant. Cancer was in less than 5 percent of the tissue eliminated. At T1b, the cancer was found in the same manner, but was in over 5 percent of tissue removed. At T1c, the cancer was discovered because an elevated PSA level motivated a needle biopsy.
T2: When this prostate cancer stage is arrived at, it signifies that your doctor is able to feel the cancerous tumor via digital rectal exam, also known as a DRE. Conversely, it may mean that your doctor was able to view it with a transrectal ultrasound. In either case, for this stage to be right, the cancer must not have spread past the prostate. A T2a means that the cancer cells are in a half or less of just one side of the prostate. Whenever you go to a T2b, this means the cancer is in over 50% of just one side of the prostate. At T2c, the cancer has passed on to both sides of your prostate.
T3: This stage is achieved whenever your prostate isn't the exclusive place where the cancer can be seen. In T3b, the cancer will have even entered the seminal vesicles. If the cancer has not quite gotten into the seminal vesicles, the prostate cancer is staged at T3a.
T4: When you've reached T4 stage prostate cancer, it has spread beyond the bladder and into tissues adjoining your prostate other than the seminal vesicles since they were already covered in stage T3. Some organs that may be affected include the rectum, the bladder, the urethral sphincter, and the pelvis wall.
I wish that I could claim that you can just read an article online and know all you need to know about prostate cancer staging. Sadly, the process is far more complicated than that. The best thing you can do is to consult with a team of dedicated prostate cancer experts. Regardless of whether your prostate cancer has been staged already by a doctor, consider going to Arch Cancer Care if you reside in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, MO. This is the kind of situation that you can't handle alone. You should have professional opinions from talented doctors with years of expertise in the extremely specialized field of prostate cancer staging.
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Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
The treatment that is right for you is dependent mainly on your age, the grade of the tumor (the Gleason score), the number of biopsy tissue samples which contain cancer cells, the stage of prostate cancer, your symptoms, and your overall health. Your physician can describe your treatment choices, the anticipated results of each, and the possible side effects. You and your physician can work together to formulate a treatment plan that meets your medical and personal needs. That is why Arch Cancer Care has compiled this list of prostate cancer treatment options for the people of St. Louis, St. Charles, O'Fallon, St. Peters, Florissant, Manchester, and Chesterfield, MO.
Active Surveillance
You might opt for active surveillance if the risks and possible side effects of treatment outweigh the possible benefits. Your doctor may suggest active surveillance if you're diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer that seems to be slowly growing. Your physician might also offer this option if you are older or have other significant health issues.
Choosing active surveillance doesn't mean you're giving up. It means you're putting off the side effects of surgery or radiation therapy. Having surgery or radiation therapy is no guarantee that a man will live longer than a man who chooses to put off treatment.
If you and your physician agree that active surveillance may be beneficial, your physician will check you regularly (such as every 3 to 6 months, at first). After about one year, your doctor may order another biopsy to check the Gleason score. You may start treatment if your Gleason score rises, your PSA level begins to rise, or you develop symptoms. You'll receive surgery, radiation therapy, or some other approach.
Active surveillance reduces the risk for or delays the side effects of surgery and radiation therapy, but this choice has risks. For some men, it may reduce the chance to control cancer before it spreads. Also, it might be more difficult to cope with surgery or radiation therapy when you are older.
If you decide on active surveillance but grow concerned later on, you should discuss your feelings with your doctor. Another approach is an option for most men.
Surgery
Surgery is an option for men in the St. Louis area with early (Stage I or II) prostate cancer. It's sometimes an option for males with Stage III or IV prostate cancer. The surgeon may remove the whole prostate or only part of it.
Before the surgeon removes the prostate, the lymph nodes in the pelvis may be removed. If prostate cancer cells can be found within the lymph nodes, the disease may have spread to other parts of the body. If cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the surgeon does not always remove the prostate and may suggest other kinds of treatment.
There are several types of surgery for prostate cancer. Each type has benefits and risks. You and your doctor can explore the kinds of surgery and which may be right for you:
Open surgery: The surgeon makes a sizable incision (cut) into your body to take out the tumor. There are two approaches:
Through the abdomen: The surgeon removes the entire prostate by way of cut in the abdomen. This is known as a radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Between the scrotum and anus: The surgeon gets rid of the entire prostate by way of cut between the scrotum and the anus. This is known as a radical perineal prostatectomy.
Laparoscopic prostatectomy: The surgeon removes the whole prostate by using little cuts, rather than single lengthy cut in the abdomen. A thin, lighted tube (a laparoscope) helps the surgeon remove the prostate.
Robotic laparoscopic surgery: The surgeon gets rid of the whole prostate through small cuts. A laparoscope and a robot are utilized to help remove the prostate. The surgeon uses handles underneath a computer display to control the robot's arms.
Cryosurgery: For some men, cryosurgery is an option. The surgeon inserts a tool through small cut between the scrotum and anus. The tool freezes and kills prostate tissue. Cryosurgery is under study.
TURP: A man with advanced prostate cancer might choose TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) to alleviate symptoms. The surgeon inserts a long, thin scope through the urethra. A cutting tool at the end of the scope removes tissue from the interior of the prostate. TURP might not get rid of all of the cancer, but it might remove tissue that obstructs the flow of urine.
Surgery can damage the nerves around the prostate. Damaging these nerves can make a man impotent (unable to have an erection). In some cases, your surgeon can protect the nerves that control erection. But if you've got a big tumor or a tumor that is extremely close to the nerves, surgery may cause impotence. Impotence can be permanent. You can speak with your physician about medicine and other ways to help manage the sexual side effects of cancer treatment.
If your prostate is completely removed, you won't produce semen. You will have dry orgasms. If you want to father children, you might think about sperm banking or a sperm retrieval procedure before surgery.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is an option for men with any stage of prostate cancer. Men with early stage prostate cancer might choose radiation therapy rather than surgery. It also might be utilized following surgery to destroy any cancer cells that remain in the area. In later stages of prostate cancer, radiation treatment may be used to help alleviate pain.
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy rays to eliminate cancer cells. It affects cells only in the treated area.
Doctors utilize two types of radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer. Some men receive both types:
External radiation: The radiation comes from a big machine outside the body. You will go to a hospital or clinic for treatment. Treatments are usually 5 days a week for a couple of weeks. Many men receive 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy. These types of treatment use computers to more closely target the cancer to lessen the damage to healthy tissue close to the prostate.
Internal radiation (implant radiation or brachytherapy): The radiation comes from radioactive material usually contained in really small implants called seeds. Dozens of seeds are placed inside needles, and the needles are inserted into the prostate. The needles are removed, leaving the seeds behind. The seeds give off radiation for months. They don't have to be taken out once the radiation goes away.
Both internal and external radiation can cause impotence. You can talk with your doctor about ways to help cope with this side effect.
Hormone Therapy
Men with prostate cancer can have hormone therapy before, during, or following radiation therapy. Hormone therapy is also used alone for prostate cancer which has returned after treatment.
Male hormones (androgens) may cause prostate cancer to grow. Hormone therapy keeps prostate cancer cells from getting the male hormones they need to grow. The testicles are the body's primary source of the male hormone testosterone. The adrenal gland makes other male hormones and a modest amount of testosterone.
Hormone therapy uses drugs or surgery:
Drugs: Your physician might recommend a drug that can block natural hormones:
Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonists: These medications can prevent the testicles from making testosterone. Examples are leuprolide, goserelin, and triptorelin. The testosterone level drops slowly. Without testosterone, the tumor shrinks, or its growth slows. These drugs are also known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists.
Antiandrogens: These drugs can obstruct the action of male hormones. Examples are flutamide, bicalutamide, and nilutamide.
Other drugs: Some drugs can prevent the adrenal gland from making testosterone. Examples include ketoconazole and aminoglutethimide.
Surgery: Surgery to remove the testicles is known as orchiectomy.
After orchiectomy or treatment with an LH-RH agonist, your body no longer gets testosterone from the testicles, the principal source of male hormones. Because the adrenal gland makes small quantities of male hormones, you may receive an antiandrogen to block the action of the male hormones that remain. This combination of treatments is known as total androgen blockade (also called combined androgen blockade). However, research indicates that total androgen blockade is no more beneficial than surgery or an LH-RH agonist alone.
Doctors normally treat prostate cancer which has spread to other areas of the body with hormone therapy. For some men, the cancer will be handled for two or three years, but others will have a much shorter reaction to hormone therapy. With time, most prostate cancers can grow with hardly any or no male hormones, and hormone therapy alone is simply not helpful. At that time, your physician might recommend chemotherapy or other forms of treatment which are under study. In many cases, the doctor might suggest continuing with hormone therapy because it may still be effective against some of the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be used for prostate cancer that has spread and no longer responds to hormone therapy.
As you have seen, there are lots of prostate cancer treatment options in Chesterfield, St. Peters, O'Fallon, or Manchester, MO. If you would like to have an initial consultation or a second opinion from a prostate cancer specialist, Arch Cancer Care is the right place to go.
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Do I Need A Second Opinion On Prostate Cancer?
It is a simple matter of fact that you might possibly want to get a second opinion if you are diagnosed with a serious medical condition such as prostate cancer. St. Louis, MO cancer patients typically come to Arch Cancer to receive a second opinion from a specialist in the field of cancer treatment. Do not feel unpleasant about asking your physician about obtaining a second opinion. Besides, the absolute most important thing with your doctor's visit is your health and well-being.
There are several reasons why a patient may opt to get a second opinion on their medical condition:
First of all, different physicians have different methods of doing things, just like with any other profession. Some physicians will be more fast to suggest major actions like surgical procedures, while other equally qualified medical professionals might suggest that you wait and watch your health condition before proceeding with any major action. Both approaches may be right in particular scenarios, but the important thing is for you to get more possibilities on the table, because the choice in the end rests with you and your family.
That brings us to one more big reason for getting a second opinion. You want to have as much info as possible before you make a significant decision involving your prostate cancer. Getting a second opinion from a specialist enables you to hear more about specialized cancer treatment. When it comes down to it, more information is always a good thing.
A diagnosis of cancer can be distressing. Your choice for treatment and management doesn't have to be. Arch Cancer Care is the sensible choice in uro-oncology care. Our physician and team of skillful professionals navigate you through and provide explicit information about your diagnosis, treatment choices, support services, and wellness and lifestyle changes that overall influence your wellness and quality of life. Your individualized treatment plan choice will be supported by a collaborative network of resources experienced in offering high level satisfaction.
Patient resources and support services may be provided on site or referred to one of our network associates specifically trained in their area of expertise.
Arch Cancer Care welcomes self referrals and second opinion consultations for those inquiring about cancer treatment options in St. Louis, MO.
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Becoming a Physician Leader
The following article consists of excerpts from a larger article in St Louis Metropolitan Medicine magazine. Dr. Michael Beat is the medical director of Arch Cancer Care, serving cancer patients in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, MO.
Radiation oncologist Michael G. Beat, MD, has been medical director of Arch Cancer Care for the past seven years. He leads a team of health care professionals specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer. He previously was chief of radiation oncology at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and was a partner with St. Louis Cancer & Breast Institute.
Besides his practice, Dr. Beat provides leadership through committee service with the US Oncology Network and the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk. He is a board member of The Empowerment Network, a support organization for men with prostate cancer. He has taken a leadership role with the Medical Society as chair of the ad hoc Innovation Committee dedicated to supporting life science and medical startup companies. He joined the SLMMS Council in 2016. A member of the 2015 SLMMS Physician Leadership Institute class, he also has received leadership training from the US Oncology Network, through his service as a U.S. Army physician, and during his studies for his MPH and MBA degrees.
What attracts you to leadership, and what do you find fulfilling?
I recognize that my individual efforts at patient care (or any other endeavor) are limited in their effectiveness by sheer time, energy and resources. Being able to engage a diverse group of individuals with unique talents and unite them in a fashion that creates a functional team or organization—one that can produce a superior product or deliver optimal patient care that I would not be able to provide by myself—motivates me to lead.
What are the key attributes of a good physician leader?
We often get so involved with the acute concerns of our patients and the day-to-day details of their health, that it can be a difficult transition to step back and look at the bigger picture over a longer time frame. One must think strategically about the future and critically analyze the performance of our past. Other key components of physician leadership are collaborative communication, team development, and effective delegation and supervision. The delivery of optimal individual patient or population health today relies on a team effort. Physicians are well suited to direct these tasks and quite accustomed to giving (or writing) orders, but we may need to develop additional skill sets to more effectively function in these leadership roles.
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