On May 4, 2024 I was honored to represent HALO Precision Diagnostics at the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. HALO, formerly Desert Medical Imaging, has been at the forefront of developing focal laser therapy as a less invasive treatment for prostate cancer. At this year’s conference, focal therapy was openly… Read more »
According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime and 1 in 44 will die each year.1 Current therapies for treating the growing disease include active surveillance (wait and watch), total removal of the prostate gland or radiation therapy of the entire prostate gland.… Read more »
How does prostate health affect cataract surgery? One of the most common medications used to treat benign prostate hypertrophy is Flomax, also known as tamsulosin. If you look carefully at the labeling on Flomax, there is a warning for patients undergoing cataract surgery of which many may be unaware. Flomax works by blocking the… Read more »
Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in men with prostate cancer? Yes, you read that right. With traditional prostate cancer screening, a series of tests looks only for evidence of prostate cancer. Those tests either find cancer or they don’t. This outdated, simplistic approach doesn’t assess other potential health… Read more »
The days of poke and hope are over! For decades, prostate biopsies have been performed in a random, systematic fashion. An ultrasound probe is inserted into the patient’s rectum and an image of the shape of the prostate gland is obtained. Random, systematic cores are taken out at the apex level (bottom), the mid-gland level… Read more »
Where were you this past September when we honored men with a prostate cancer diagnosis? Did you know that an estimated 174,650 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 286,600 new cases of U.S. women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2019? In short, 1 in 9 men will hear the… Read more »
The world of prostate cancer diagnosis has changed significantly over the past thirty years. One of the most notable advances of the past decade is the development of a new biopsy strategy that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Developed in part by the doctors and scientists at Coachella Valley’s Desert Medical Imaging, the MRI scan… Read more »
When a suspicion of prostate cancer exists either due to elevated or rising serum PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels, family history of prostate cancer, or abnormal prostate on clinical digital rectal examination, consideration should be given to either confirm a diagnosis or establish that no evidence of prostate cancer is present despite abnormal clinical evaluation… Read more »
Sixteen years after the approval and use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for generalized population screening by the FDA, an opinion editorial in The New York Times by the discoverer of PSA (and co-author of this article), Richard J. Ablin, directed attention to the shortcomings of the PSA test contributing to overdiagnosis and overtreatment… Read more »
Many people have heard of PET scans to detect the presence and location of cancer. This test typically uses a type of radioactive sugar injected into a vein, which can then be detected by a machine that creates images of the person’s body while he or she lies still on a table. A new type… Read more »
Xofigo (Radium-223 dichloride) is a novel radiopharmaceutical treatment, the first of its kind that has been shown to improve cancer survival in certain men with metastatic prostate cancer. It is a promising treatment which may be effective when other treatments have failed. Prostate cancer can often be detected at a very early stage with routine… Read more »
This October, Desert Medical Imaging (DMI) is bringing experts from around the world together for a three-day symposium on prostate MRI and MR-guided intervention. The educational event will be held on October 5-7 in Palm Springs at a new interactive learning facility opened last year by USCAP, an international pathology education organization. Located on South… Read more »
More than a quarter of American men (and their partners!) are dealing with an enlarged prostate. The medical term is BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, a condition that causes a variety of urination issues, from slow/weak stream, to the urgent need to urinate night and day. This can mean restless nights and withdrawal from normal… Read more »
Oftentimes, my male patients need encouragement and support from a spouse to seek medical treatment for urological issues; spouses are sometimes key to preventing a mild condition from becoming more serious. I spoke with the wife of one of my patients about her husband’s experience with enlarged prostate and his early decision to seek treatment.… Read more »
Physician experts from Walsh Urology address common men’s urinary health issues to increase awareness of these important health conditions. If you suffer from aggravating urinary conditions, it is important to consult an urologist, as many of these conditions are easily treated. Prostate Conditions. Most common problems with men can be issues related to the prostate… Read more »
You’ve seen the commercials and have possibly even joked with friends about a “Flomax moment.” We see men playing golf or enjoying other activities who are constantly interrupted by their urgent need to find a restroom. If you find yourself in this scenario more often nowadays, you are not alone. Over 70% of men in… Read more »
It is important to remember that practitioners were successfully treating health conditions long before western medicine was developed. Fortunately, the medical community is now starting to recognize the value of many time-tested therapies including nutrition, body manipulation and acupuncture. Many of our forebears may have suffered from prostate issues and incontinence; Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)… Read more »
Having to go all the time? You are not alone. Over 70% of men in their 60s have symptoms of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia),1 a condition in which the prostate enlarges as men get older. While BPH is a benign (non-cancerous) condition, it can certainly decrease one’s quality of life. The most common treatment for… Read more »
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, is a very common condition in which the prostate enlarges as men get older. Over 70% of men in their 60s have symptoms of BPH which affect more than 500 million men worldwide!1 While BPH is a benign (non-cancerous) condition, it can cause loss of productivity and sleep, depression and… Read more »
September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The campaign was established in 1999 by the American Foundation for Urological Disease to educate about risk factors and symptoms of prostate related diseases, to provide easily accessible prostate health, and to advocate for further research on prostate health issues. Over the past two decades, we have seen… Read more »
