The medical community has worked diligently to increase awareness about prostate cancer and this education effort is paying off.
We?re seeing more cases of prostate cancer and most of these are in an early stage, which are curable.
Prostate cancer is the? No. 1 solid organ cancer in men; only skin cancer is more prevalent.
The lifetime risk for Caucasian men is one in six, and it?s even higher for African Americans ? one in five.
It?s rare for prostate cancer to present before 40, and it?s very common in men over 80.
While treatment is often successful, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among men. Only lung cancer takes more male lives.
Age is one of the biggest prostate cancer risk factors. Others considered to be at high risk are men with a family history of prostate cancer and blacks.
Obesity and diet also seem to play a role in whether men develop prostate cancer. The disease?s highest incidence is among black men in Oakland, while Japanese men in Japan are at the low-end of the scale.
In its early stages, prostate cancer doesn?t have any symptoms, which is why screening is so important.
The American Urological Association recommends those at high risk begin screening at age 40, but others can wait until 50.
Screening consists of a digital rectal exam and Prostate-Specific Antigen? test. While the blood test is the best indicator of whether prostate cancer is present, it often results in false-positives; it can indicate an infection, benign enlarged prostate, inflammation or recent ejaculation.
Further evaluation will determine if cancer is present. One of the newest available tools is a urine test that looks for the presence of a specific genetic marker indicative of prostate cancer.
In some cases we use surveillance as treatment, especially for men whose life expectancies are less than 10 years. Prostate cancer grows very slowly, so many men are more likely to die with it than from it.
One treatment we often recommend is removing the prostate. Since its job is to secrete fluid to protect sperm, it?s not a ?necessary? gland once men have passed their reproductive years.
In some men, we?ll recommend treatment with external beam radiation, which consists of brief exposure five days a week for eight weeks.
Another type of radiation is brachytherapy ?one-millimeter radioactive seeds implanted in the prostate release radiation slowly over a three-month period before becoming inert.
Hormone therapy is another treatment modality, one that can be combined with either surgery or radiation. Testosterone-blocking shots are the method of delivery.
One common concern among men undergoing surgery is the possibility of nerve damage resulting in impotence or incontinence. There are ways to spare nerves, especially with the increased use of robotic surgery.
Due to the procedure?s delicate nature, men should be sure their surgeon is highly experienced.
Given the success we?ve had with treating prostate cancer in its earlier stages, medical professionals will continue to stress the importance of screening.
The words ?cancer? and ?cure? aren?t often used together, but we can cure men of prostate cancer as long as it?s discovered early.
Dr. Mark Susskind is a board-certified urologist who?s affiliated with Sutter Medical Foundation and Sutter Medical Group, Solano. He sees patients in Vacaville and Fairfield.
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