RadNet’s Post

Transcript

Welcome back, everyone. Was September just a few days away? It's time to talk about prostate cancer. September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the risk factor increasing significantly in men over 50. To tell us more about it, we've invited back Doctor Robert Princeton Thal, medical director of Radnitz Prostate Imaging Program. Thank you for being on on this very important topic. Thank you so much, Lauren and Little. Glad to be here. Yeah. So let's get to just the basics. What is prostate cancer? Who's most at risk for it and how prevalent is it? It's very prevalent. The incidence of prostate cancer is identical to breast cancer in women. So roughly 300,000 men and women are diagnosed each year of their diseases. And unfortunately, 35,000 men and women die each year of their diseases. But we can screen prostate cancer with a PSA blood test, which we don't have for women with breast cancer. And you're right, men 50 and on have an increased risk of prostate cancer. All right, so we talked about that number, but does it? Occur in younger men, just like with colon cancer, we're finding more and more men and cancer being detected younger. So for people with high risk, which are minority men, people who may have strong family history or genetic changes, we recommend starting screening at 4545 to start screening for high risk. And then what about who? What else should people get screened and who should get screened? Well, all men should get screened. And the the problem we have, at least in my clinic, every week I see a man presenting with a PSA. Of over 50 to 500 and they are metastatic of presentation. What does that mean in layman's terms? That means it's spread out of the gland and it means they're ability to have their disease cured as reduced. So just unfortunately, like with President Biden, he presented at the age of 81 with prostate cancer that already spread to his bone. So we're hoping that we can get the word out and do population based health screening and get more men to get screened if we can find the cancer with the PSA 15 or less. We should be able to reduce the mortality by at least 20%. Well, you had mentioned earlier that men are sometimes not all of you, but that in your words, chickens sometimes when they're going to the doctor, right, and they get nervous. But you're saying now like, get in there early, especially if you even if you don't have symptoms. And by the way, what are the symptoms exactly? Correct. Prostate cancer frequently has no symptoms. And men confuse the symptoms of a big prostate, meaning that they have to go to the bathroom more frequently with cancer. And that's not true. So since it's asymptomatic, you need to get a PSA blood test. If it's over 2 1/2 to 3:00, ask for a prostate MRI. And we can triage men who would benefit from biopsy by seeing a suspicious spot on the images. But more importantly, we can help them avoid an unnecessary benign biopsy by saying the gland looks good and the prostates in a sensitive area. They want to be clear on this point. You're saying that you just have to do a blood test. Yes, a blood test and a MRI, which is safe and non invasive. And that's a very effective screen. And we can actually be more accurate for prostate cancer detection. And we're doing for women with breast cancer MRI. You know, those are expensive. Sometimes if folks are out there like, well, I can't afford to do an MRI. The blood test is first. Sheep and covered by insurance, but Radnet is offering a program called EPS and enhanced prostate screening and we're offering a noncontrast prostate Mr. for $275.00. So cost should no longer be a barrier to get screened. But more importantly, I think men tend to be more concerned about the side effects of treatment rather than the disease itself. But with newer technologies and advancements with treatment options, the risks of the functional side effects have really gone down. Really important points, Doctor Prince. Thank you so much for being on with us. We appreciate it. We'll be talking about this all month of September. You're wearing your blue ribbon panels, which you said is for your prostate cancer awareness. So thank you so much. Thanks for getting the word out. Alright, For more information, you can visit radnet.com and we're going to check in now.