Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month! Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer for men with approximately 1 in 8 men being diagnosed in the US in their lifetime. However, if caught early, the cure rate is very high (over 95%) with several available treatment options. Surgery and Radiation Therapy (including Brachytherapy) are the common treatment options for those with localized prostate cancer. It is ideal to see a team comprising of a urologist and radiation oncologist to help you make the best decision for your prostate cancer. www.affiliatedurologists.com/ www.prostatecancerinstituteaz.com
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00:00 September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and joining me today is Dr. B. of the Prostate
00:07 Cancer Institute of Arizona and urologist Dr. Patel who is with the affiliated urologist.
00:12 Did I say it right?
00:13 That's right.
00:14 There it is.
00:15 How are you two doing today?
00:16 We're doing great.
00:17 This is a very important topic, a very important topic to a lot of people, especially you doctor.
00:23 But let's first talk about the type of doctors you are because you're a urologist and you're
00:27 a radiation oncologist.
00:30 Okay.
00:31 And the difference there is a little bit is what?
00:33 So for urologists, we are a surgical subspecialty.
00:36 We are surgeons that focus mostly on the urinary tract for both men and women.
00:42 That includes kidneys, bladders, prostates, really anything, men's health and most people
00:46 don't know about women as well.
00:48 Yeah.
00:49 And then doctor?
00:50 As radiation oncologists, we are doctors who specialize in the use of using radiation therapy
00:54 to treat people's cancers.
00:56 And as you know, I specialize only prostate cancer now.
00:59 Right.
01:00 And it's a great technology that you use there.
01:01 And this is so important, especially this month.
01:04 We really need to talk about it.
01:05 And let's talk about your story because this is very pretty much hitting home for you,
01:09 isn't it?
01:10 Yeah, it is.
01:11 So I think I got into medicine not knowing what I wanted to do.
01:14 And I thought I wanted to be a trauma surgeon, but I fell into urology as my dad ended up
01:21 getting prostate cancer and he was young.
01:23 He was 48 when he got it.
01:25 And unfortunately, he passed away at 50.
01:29 And that was kind of my passion and my drive to go into urology.
01:32 And even to this day, every time I talk about prostate cancer or someone with prostate cancer,
01:36 I still get the chills today.
01:37 But that was my drive.
01:38 Your drive there.
01:39 So let's talk about the things that we as men need to do with, of course, prostate cancer,
01:44 awareness about just prostate in general.
01:46 What's some things we should be looking for, paying attention to?
01:49 The biggest thing is you have to have a primary care doctor.
01:52 And once you see them, you got to get screened.
01:54 You have to get screening for prostate cancer.
01:57 And it's as simple as just getting a blood test and seeing your doctor.
02:02 And Dr. B, what's very important too is after you have been diagnosed is seeing someone
02:06 like you.
02:07 And that's where you actually work with a lot of doctors around here in the Valley,
02:10 don't you?
02:11 Yes.
02:12 I really enjoy collaborating with urologists such as Dr. Patel.
02:15 I think having a team approach for patients is really best.
02:20 Prostate cancer is very different than other cancers and unique.
02:23 In fact, there's multiple options with excellent cure rates.
02:28 And so it's not easy to figure out which one is best for you.
02:31 It actually gets complicated for the patients.
02:32 And that's why having a team approach really helps them.
02:36 Yeah.
02:37 Doctor, as we talk about having a team approach and working so may before they're diagnosed,
02:42 is there things that we need to look in our bodies and see what's going on to make sure
02:46 that we are, of course, as we say, using the bathroom the right way?
02:51 Yeah.
02:52 See, the interesting thing about prostate cancer is that it really has no symptoms.
02:55 So people think that, oh, if I'm going to the bathroom more, if I have these urinary
02:59 symptoms, then you're worried about prostate cancer.
03:01 But that's really not the case.
03:03 So screening and seeing your physician and having a urologist once you turn 50 is probably
03:08 the best option to kind of get screened.
03:11 And then after, of course, being diagnosed, you come see Dr. B, who will there help you.
03:16 And with your surgery, and that's really surgery.
03:18 Do we call it surgery?
03:19 Or is it more of a procedure?
03:23 So which is so important here.
03:24 And that is where, again, it's something that has a great success rate.
03:29 It's also, too, something that has been around for a long time.
03:31 But you're really bringing back in it to take care of them so they can get back to their
03:35 everyday life, right?
03:36 Yeah.
03:37 You know, it's one of the treatment options for prostate cancer.
03:39 And just recently hasn't really been offered that much.
03:43 It hasn't been available.
03:44 So yes, this has been my passion now to help revive this modality.
03:47 So patients now have this option.
03:49 And it's like you said, it's a great option since there's minimal downtime with successful
03:53 cure rates and can maintain your potency.
03:55 Yeah, very important.
03:56 We're so happy that you're part of our Live Well program, too, which is so important,
03:59 especially during this Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
04:03 Any tips on, of course, you have for us to make sure that we are getting the right health
04:08 screenings that we need to?
04:10 Yeah, so when you, the recommendation is when you turn 45 to 50, the most important thing
04:16 is shared decision making is what our society calls to sit down with your doctor and kind
04:21 of decide whether it's the right thing for you or not.
04:23 Because you know, getting screened does bring along procedures and anxiety if you do get
04:29 diagnosed, etc.
04:30 But I think the most important thing is to figure out how to stay healthy.
04:33 So I would recommend just going to see your doctor and kind of figure out if that's the
04:36 right thing.
04:37 But starting at the age of 45, for most men, if you have a family history or high risk
04:42 factors such as a young parent like mine or African American, and if you have high risk
04:51 factors, you should go earlier than 45 at the age of 40.
04:53 There it is.
04:54 And again, doctor, for all you do and everything, love having you in here and again, helping
04:57 people get back to their regular lives.
05:00 And I will say this, gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, have a talk with your friends.
05:04 It's okay.
05:05 It's time to start talking about this so we can prevent it and also we can get it taken
05:08 care of when you do have it.
05:09 So thank you two very much.
05:10 And if you want more information of Dr. B and Dr. Patel, you can head over to our Live
05:14 Well page on aztv.com.
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