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Early Detection Is Key To Fighting Prostate Cancer

News USA

      Prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of death among men. And the death rate for African-Americans is more than twice that of Caucasian men.

      Prostate cancer generally targets men over age 50, usually with no symptoms of its early stages. More men are taking the disease seriously and are seeking early screening tests, like the prostate-specific antigen blood test (PSA). According to medical experts, early detection is the key to the successful treatment of prostate cancer.

      If the cancer is found early and localized, proton therapy can make a significant difference in the care and treatment of prostate cancer. A typical treatment program takes about seven weeks and is painless, bloodless and has little or no side effects common to other treatment modalities such as surgery, conventional radiation, hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

      At Loma Linda University Medical Center's Proton Treatment Center more than 700 prostate cancer patients have been treated with protons. The majority of these patients educated themselves about the treatment options and made informed decisions.

      Proton therapy uses high-energy proton particles, produced by an accelerator or synchrotron, which is designed to deliver a beam of particle energy to patient tumors. It is the most precise form of radiation treatment available for certain cancers and other diseases.

      According to James M. Slater, M.D., director of the LLUMC Proton Treatment Center, the noninvasive character of proton therapy allows treatment to be done on an outpatient basis, and does not adversely affect a patient's ability to conduct usual daily activities.

      "The advantages of proton treatment are that protons can be precisely aimed at the tumor while avoiding significant reactions in the normal surrounding tissues and organs," said Slater.

      Slater explained that there is increasing frustration and confusion among prostate cancer patients who are offered conflicting treatment options for their disease. LLUMC, a part of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist hospitals, is the best equipped hospital in the nation to offer proton therapy as one of those options. Nevertheless, Proton Center staff work with patients and their doctors in the evaluation of all treatment options available.

      One thing is certain , early detection is key to the successful treatment of prostate cancer. For more information, call 1-800-496-4966.

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