Website Helps Men Evaluate Risk of Prostate Cancer
Edited (with Introduction) by Dr. Don Rose, Writer,
Life Alert
--
This article discusses
prostate cancer, some state-of-the-art
treatment options, and a website that features a risk test for this type of cancer. The free test promotes
prostate cancer screenings and early detection, which maximizes a man’s chance for
survival and helps reduce the chances that drastic treatment will be needed. Hence,
this test is something that men over 50, especially
senior citizens, should look into.
–Don Rose
--
Background
In 2006, more than 234,000 American men will
be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease,
according to the American Cancer Society. While it is estimated that 1 man in 6
will suffer from prostate cancer in his lifetime, only 1 man in 34 will die from
it. The earlier the disease is diagnosed and
treated, the more likely it is for patients to survive and remain disease-free.
Online prostate
cancer risk test
A new website published by Little Company
of
Mary
Hospital
and
Health
Care
Centers
in the
Southwest Chicago
area (http://www.PursuingPainFreeCancer.org) encourages men to learn more about prostate
cancer, and to take a free confidential online
test to evaluate their prostate cancer risk. The website’s test evaluates
a man’s risk based on certain genetic and lifestyle factors that scientists believe
affect one’s prostate cancer risk.
Knowledge and
survival
Knowing one’s risk can significantly increase
a man’s chance for surviving prostate cancer. According to Dr. Paul Y. Song, a prostate
cancer specialist at Little Company of Mary, “Knowing your risk and early detection
provide the best tools to fight prostate cancer. If the disease is diagnosed early,
a patient has an excellent prognosis, many treatment options, and typically suffers
from fewer side effects.” When the disease is still confined to the prostate, the
five-year relative survival rate is nearly 100 percent.
Treatment options
“Men whose cancer is diagnosed early may be candidates
for any of the accepted prostate cancer treatments,” Dr. Song said. Some of the
treatment options include radiation therapy and surgery. The doctor notes that “during
the last 20 years, major clinical evidence has shown that both surgery and radiation
therapy offer an equal chance for cure in the treatment of prostate cancer.”
Little Company of Mary Hospital is the only hospital in the entire greater
Chicago
area to offer both High Dose Rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer treatment and
the da Vinci robotic prostatectomy.
High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy provides
the most precise delivery of radiation possible in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Unlike permanent seed implants, patients have temporary placement of radioactive
catheters which can be custom tailored to deliver precision internal radiation and
better avoid the urethra, rectum, and nerves to reduce overall toxicity without
being radioactive and exposing family members to radiation. It is a one-day procedure
where patients can go back to work the next day. According to Dr. Song, “HDR brachytherapy
takes the prostate implant procedure to a whole new level, and is more precise and
less toxic than conventional seed implants.”
The da Vinci robotic surgical system
is a state-of-the-art minimally-invasive technology which allows surgeons to perform
complex surgeries through tiny openings. Patients who undergo daVinci prostatectomies
typically enjoy fewer overall side effects, shorter hospital stays, and earlier
resumption of normal activities.
Conclusion
At its earliest stages, prostate cancer does not present with any symptoms. Therefore,
knowing one’s risk and early detection for prostate cancer are a man’s best defenses.
“Once cancer cells are found outside the prostate, a man has much fewer treatment
options and less potential for cure,” Dr. Song explained. Little Company of Mary’s
online prostate cancer risk test at http://www.PursuingPainFreeCancer.org
“is a great tool to become more knowledgeable about prostate cancer.”
The information provided here
is, to the best of our knowledge, reliable and accurate. However, while Life Alert always strives to provide true, precise and
consistent information, we cannot guarantee 100 percent accuracy. Readers are encouraged
to review the original article, and use any resource links provided to gather more
information before drawing conclusions and making decisions.
Dr. Don Rose writes
books, papers and articles on computers, the Internet, AI, science and technology,
and issues related to seniors.
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