Prostate Cancer

More than 234,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and of these, more than 27,000 will die from the disease. For men 40 " 59, one in 38 will contract the disease and for men 60 " 69, one in 14 will learn they have prostate cancer. Sixty-five percent of all prostate cancers are found in men ages 65 " 69. Below is vital information and links to help you understand benign prostate changes and symptoms to report to your physician.If you have already been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you’ll want to know about the best treatment for your individual case. The links to staging and treatment that follow will give you a general idea of treatments available for different stages of the disease.US TOO International, Inc is an organization offering education and support to prostate cancer patients and their families. Barton Wachs, M.D. is a urologist who moderates this monthly group here at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. If you are newly diagnosed, this is the perfect place to meet other men who are under treatment or have completed treatment. See below for further details.At the Todd Cancer Institute, we specialize in the treatment of prostate cancer. Surgery, radiation and hormone therapy are the most common treatment modalities and are often used in combination. The da Vinci System utilizes the newest technology and is part of Long Beach Memorial’s Robotic Surgery Program, which is overseen by David K. Ornstein, M.D., medical director.
Surgical Services utilizes the newest technology including the da Vinci Robot.Patients with high-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer should find out if they are a candidate to receive combined modality treatment using low-dose chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy. For more information, call Cancer Answers at (562) 933-0900 to speak with a registered oncology nurse.TomoTherapy is a highly advanced form of external radiation therapy that uses computerized scanning to precisely locate and provide a beam of concentrated radiation to a specific area. Why should you consider TomoTherapy? Besides having peace of mind knowing that 100 percent of the radiation is going exactly where your physician and therapists want it to go, most men experience a reduction in side effects because adjacent tissues such as the bladder and rectal wall receive a limited dose of radiation. For more information on TomoTherapy, visit our TomoTherapy information page. We are internationally known for hyperthermia and high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatments. We use these technologies to treat recurrent or hard to treat cancers of the prostate, head and neck and gynecologic cancers. To read more about brachytherapy and hyperthermia, select one of the following articles:

• HDR Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Carcinoma of the Prostate
• Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy
• Hyperthermia as Cancer Therapy

Information Resources

• Understanding the Prostate
• Early Prostate Cancer Q & A
• General Information about Prostate Cancer
• Stages of Prostate Cancer
• Prostate Cancer Treatment Overview
• Nutrition and Prostate Cancer

Information and Advocacy

• Prostate Cancer Education Council
  1.866.477.6788 www.pcaw.com

• Prostate Cancer Foundation
  1.800.757.2873 www.prostatecancerfoundation.org

• The Prostate Net
  1.888.477.6763 www.prostate-online.org

• National Prostate Cancer Coalition
  1.888.245.9455 www.fightprostatecancer.org

• Alliance for Prostate Cancer Prevention
  1.888.502.7227 www.apcap.org

Support

• US TOO International
  Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network
  1.800.808.7866 www.ustoo.org *Group meets at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center the 4th Tuesday of every month. Some special events meet off campus. Call 562-933-0900 for more information.