September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Cancer Society, other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men, and an estimated 218,890 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2007.
Risk Factors |
Age – The
chance of developing prostate cancer increases
dramatically after age 50.
Race – Prostate cancer occurs
60 percent more often in African American
men than in Caucasian men, and African-Americans
are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced
stage prostate cancer.
Family history – Having
a father or brother with prostate cancer
more than doubles a man’s risk. Risk
also increases if relatives were diagnosed
with the disease at a young age. |
Symptoms
The survival rate for prostate cancer is much greater when the disease is detected and treated early. Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms; however, when symptoms of prostate cancer do occur, they include:
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer |
- Frequent urination, especially at night
- Difficulty urinating or holding back urine
- Inability to urinate
- Painful or burning urination
- Blood in urine or semen
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs
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Early Detection
Beginning at age 50, men should have an annual digital rectal exam and/or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, talk to your doctor about beginning screenings earlier.
Treatment
The University of Pennsylvania Health System offers robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy, which is advancing the surgical treatment of prostate cancer. Compared to conventional open surgery, the benefits of laparoscopic prostatectomy include less post-operative pain, less blood loss and a quicker return to normal, everyday activities.
David I. Lee, MD, chief of the Division of Urology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and C. William Schwab, II, MD, are the most experienced surgeons performing robotic prostatectomy in the Philadelphia region.
For more information about screening or treatment
options for prostate cancer, call 800-789-PENN
(7366) or visit the Penn
Urology web site.
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