Prostate Cancer

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is a common form of cancer in men. The prostate gland, about the size of a golf ball, is positioned under your bladder in front of your rectum.

Prostate cancer happens when cells in your prostate gland mutate. These cells multiply out of control, leading to the growth of cancerous tumors.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

Very often, men don’t experience any symptoms when they have prostate cancer. The condition might show up during a routine exam without you being aware of any problems.

When prostate cancer does cause symptoms, they can include:

• Difficulty starting urination
• Weak urine stream
• Urine incontinence
• Leaking after urinating
• Urinating more frequently
• Waking up to urinate
• Pain during urination
• Painful bowel movements
• Painful ejaculation
• Bloody urine or semen
• Lower back pain
• Abdominal or bone pain
• Fatigue and weight loss

These symptoms can be due to diseases and conditions other than prostate cancer, so getting a diagnosis is vital. Urologic Surgeons of Arizona has state-of-the-art diagnostic technologies to help make a quick, accurate diagnosis.

How is prostate cancer diagnosed?

Our providers can tell by listening to you describe your symptoms if the problem is likely to be your prostate. Other conditions, like benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), have some of the same symptoms as prostate cancer, so he needs to be sure what’s wrong before starting treatment.

First, our providers check your prostate with a digital rectal exam (DRE). He can do a urine test for blood or abnormal cells and order a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test to check your blood for a raised PSA level. our providers use the advanced 4Kscore® PSA test developed by OPKO Health®.

If your test results indicate prostate cancer, our providers do an MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsy, an in-office procedure during which he removes a small piece of prostate tissue to be sent to a lab for analysis. 

He uses transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) to do the biopsy, which includes an Oncotype DX® analysis from Genomic Health® to ensure you get the most suitable, least invasive treatment.

How is prostate cancer treated?

Your treatment depends on how advanced the cancer is, your age, and your general health. Surgery is often one of the best options.

Our providers are experts in high-frequency ultrasound ablation (HIFU). This treatment involves using ultrasound to kill cancer cells using a transrectal probe.

If your prostate needs to be removed, radical prostatectomy is the usual approach. It’s suitable when cancer cells haven’t spread beyond the prostate. Our providers use the da Vinci® robotic system for radical prostatectomy, ensuring the utmost precision to preserve delicate prostate nerves.

Call Urologic Surgeons of Arizona if you have any symptoms of prostate cancer or book an appointment online today.