Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. One out of every eight men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. One out of forty-one men in the United States will die of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is usually first suspected if a patient is found to have an elevated PSA. Sometimes, prostate cancer is suspected when an abnormal nodule is felt on the prostate during a rectal exam. If prostate cancer is suspected, additional blood work and imaging (MRI) is usually recommended. If there is enough concern for the presence of prostate cancer, your urologist may recommend a prostate biopsy.
Traditional prostate biopsy involves a needle being passed through 12 different parts of the prostate in a systematic fashion to obtain cores of tissue from the prostate. At Clarksville Urology, we offer robotic-assisted MRI-fusion biopsies, whereby a robotic arm is used to obtain cores of tissue from any areas of abnormality seen on the MRI, along with the standard 12 systematic cores of tissue.
40% of prostate cancers are slow growing and can be observed. The remainder are more aggressive and often require treatment. Treatment for prostate cancer can include:
- Surveillance with regular blood work, imaging, and/or biopsies
- Radical prostatectomy (At Clarksville Urology, this procedure is performed robotically)
- Radiation
- Hormone treatment (testosterone blockade)
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy