Prostate Cancer treatment

 September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month! See a special announcement from Dr. Kamyar Ebrahimi:

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men today. Similar to breast cancer in women, every man runs the risk of developing prostate cancer simply because of his gender. Early detection and treatment dramatically improve a man's chances of surviving prostate cancer, and the odds of survival are better today than ever before.

 Screening

There are two main procedures to detect prostate cancer: a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a blood test. During a DRE a physician feels the inside of the rectum for an enlarged prostate. This is followed up by a blood test used to determine the level of prostate-specific antigens (PSA), which are an indicator of cancerous prostate cells.

Both of these two brief exams are recommended yearly for men over the age of 50 as well as African-American men or men with a family history of prostate cancer over the age of 40.

Watch a Video About Prostate Cancer

Watch the the episode below brought to you by Glendale Adventist's TV show, Healthline, as it broaches the topic of prostate cancer. Want to learn more? Click here to see other video topics.

Treatment

Deciding how to fight prostate cancer is based on many things including the spread of the cancer, available treatment options, patient preference, and much more. So when diagnosed with prostate cancer, men should work closely with their physicians to select the treatment that is best for them.

GAMC offers three main treatment options to combat prostate cancer:

• External Beam Radiation
• Brachytherapy (or Seed Implant)
• Cyberknife
• da Vinci
• Radical Prostatectomy

GAMC's prostate seed implant program offers an alternative treatment to radical prostatectomy for men with localized prostate cancer. This is a non-surgical treatment option that improves medical outcomes, minimizes side effects and controls tumor growth.

For More Information

Click here to download our Health Connections brochure entitled, "Understanding Prostate Cancer".

If you'd like more information about Glendale Adventist's prostate cancer treatment programs, please call Melina Thorpe, RN, director of Cancer Services at 818-409-8198 or send an email.