When diagnosed and treated early, prostate cancer is highly treatable and survivable. At the Urology Surgery Center Northwest in Spokane, Washington, you can come in for high-tech cancer treatments and return home that same day. Schedule your appointment at the new state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center by calling the office now or clicking on the online scheduling link.
Prostate cancer is a malignant growth in the prostate gland, the small organ under a man’s bladder.
Prostate cancer starts when healthy cells multiply abnormally within the prostate gland. Most prostate cancers grow slowly and stay in the prostate gland. But it can sometimes spread to the seminal vesicles, the smaller glands connected to either side of the prostate gland. Prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body, including the bones, but it does so rarely.
Prostate cancer is the second-most-common cancer after skin cancer in American men.
Prostate cancer rarely causes early symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they’re likely to be similar to those of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlarged prostate. The symptoms can include:
Prostate cancer can cause other symptoms that aren’t generally seen with BPH, including:
If you notice any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment at Urology Surgery Center Northwest as soon as possible.
Diagnosis is the first step on your treatment path. Various tools can detect prostate cancer and determine its severity, including a digital rectal exam (DRE), prostate-specific antigen testing, and prostate biopsy (tissue sampling).
After diagnosis, you’ll need at least one of the following treatments.
Surveillance means monitoring (but not treating) small tumors that have a low risk of progression. It can include either active surveillance, with regular biopsies, or watchful waiting, involving less intensive monitoring.
Localized therapy destroys or removes the prostate cancer using methods like nerve-sparing robotic radical prostatectomy (prostate removal), high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), cryotherapy (freezing the cancer), radiation therapy, laser ablation, or photodynamic therapy.
Systemic therapy affects the whole body. Treatments include hormone therapy that disrupts the male hormones that stimulate cancer growth, chemotherapy to kill cancer cells throughout the body, and immunotherapy to stimulate your immune system to destroy the cancer.
The Urology Surgery Center Northwest can help you find the treatment plan that works best. Call the office today or click the online scheduler.