CUMBERLAND, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness month. One in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 35,000 men will die this year from it. For many men, it’s a treatable cancer, if caught early with a blood screening test called a PSA test, followed by a biopsy. Now, there’s a new device and technique that makes biopsy safer, and easier to recover from. Prostate Cancer Biopsy
There’s not much that can keep Rick Bartlett out of the saddle of his bike. He rides around 5,000 miles a year.
As a retired U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State police helicopter pilot, health and fitness have always been important. But in 2016, a yearly check of his PSA levels showed they were elevated.
“I came back a year later and now, it had bumped over 4.0 to 4.3,” Bartlett tells Ivanhoe.
Urologist Matthew Allaway, DO, at Urology Associates, determined Bartlett needed a biopsy to see if cancer was developing. Standard biopsies access the prostate through the rectum so, patients need to take antibiotics to lower the risk of infection. Plus, there’s not a lot of room to angle the biopsy needle for the 10 to 12 samples doctors must take.
“In order to get to areas where we knew cancer was hiding was very tricky to do. Those two problems led me to think, there’s gotta be a better solution. And the answer is to go through the perineum,” Dr. Allaway explains.
Dr. Allaway developed a new device called the precision point. With this method, the biopsy needle passes through the skin in the perineum — near the rectum – it only requires two needle sticks so, it’s less painful for the patient.
Bartlett says, “I think two or three days later, I got back on the bike and did a nice, easy ride. Felt virtually no pain.”
After robotic laparoscopic surgery to remove the cancer, Bartlett is now cancer-free.
The Precision Point Device is FDA approved, and Dr. Allaway holds six patents on the technology and the method of testing. He says nearly 500 urologists across the United States have now been trained to use the device.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
https://www.ivanhoe.com/medical-breakthroughs/fusion-biopsy-finds-prostate-cancer-early/
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: PRECISION POINT: EASIER RECOVERY AFTER PROSTATE CANCER BIOPSY
REPORT: MB #5106
BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer with many cases growing slowly and confined to the prostate gland; other forms of prostate cancer are more aggressive and can spread quickly. When prostate cancer is caught early and is still confined to the prostate, patients have a great chance of having successful treatment. Some of the causes are still not entirely clear. Some of the risk factors include older age, obesity, and even family history.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353087)
DIAGNOSING: Most prostate cancers are found at first through a screening and early prostate cancers do not usually show symptoms. But if cancer becomes more advanced, symptoms are sometimes more readily detectable. If you or your doctor think you may have prostate cancer, a prostate exam is one way for the doctor to determine if you have prostate cancer. The doctor is feeling for bumps in the areas of the prostate where cancer might originate. Another way is from a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is a protein made from cells which are in the prostate gland, and you can receive a blood test to see if you have cancer.
(Source: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-diagnosed.html)
ADDITIONAL TESTING: A prostate biopsy is a procedure that removes samples of tissues from the prostate. During the procedure a needle is used to collect several different tissues from the prostate and the procedure is performed by a urologist. Your doctor may recommend a prostate biopsy if the results for the initial tests suggest that you have prostate cancer, and it will take that tissue and then examine it under a microscope to determine if there are any abnormalities in the cell that are signs of prostate cancer. If the cancer is present, it is evaluated to see how quickly it’ll spread and determine the best treatment options.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/prostate-biopsy/about/pac-20384734)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Kelli Allaway
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
