PROSTATE PROS

PROSTATE PROS Series Finale On the last episode of the PROSTATE PROS podcast, Dr. Scholz and Liz recap important themes and talk about what’s new in prostate cancer, including Lutetium-177 and Orgovyx. Dr. Scholz:  [00:03] We’re guiding you to

PROSTATE PROS Series Finale On the last episode of the PROSTATE PROS podcast, Dr. Scholz and Liz recap important themes and talk about what’s new in prostate cancer, including Lutetium-177 and Orgovyx. Dr. Scholz:  [00:03] We’re guiding you to treatment success and avoiding prostate cancer pitfalls.  I’m your host, Dr. Mark Scholz.  Liz:  [00:09] And I’m your cohost, Liz Graves.  Dr. Scholz:  [00:13] Welcome to the PROSTATE PROS podcast.  Liz:  [00:15] We have a bit of a sad announcement to make, as this will be the last episode of the PROSTATE PROS podcast.  Dr. Scholz and I have really enjoyed working on this project and we’ve covered so many important topics surrounding prostate cancer and men’s health.  So for this last episode, we’re going to recap some important themes and talk about some promising new therapies.  So Dr. Scholz, on our very first episode, we talked about how important it is to find the right treatment team.  This is something that’s come up again and again and again.  What are some tips you have for newly diagnosed men trying to find their doctors?  Dr. Scholz:  [00:53] I think what’s confusing is how much of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of patients.  The prostate industry is a very powerful multi-billion dollar industry, and there is a lot happening really fast.  When patients are diagnosed, they’re not in a thoughtful perspective, they’re in an action mode, they’re frightened.  It is hard to sort out who to listen to and who to stay away from. This process can be aided by family members, primary care doctors, oncologists, and of course, online resources and books.  I try to provide some of that information in the book, The Key to Prostate Cancer, but the process, if it was easy, we could give you one simple answer.  It is not a simple process.  Liz:  [01:46] One thing that we’ve talked about is to get a quarterback.  So this is a doctor that isn’t the treating doctor necessarily, but it’s someone that will oversee the treatment and work with the other teams of doctors.  This is something I hear you doing Dr. Scholz, you’re always talking to other doctors about patients and kind of networking with them to make sure that the patient is getting the best care, even when they’re not in our office.  Dr. Scholz:  [02:12] I think the issue that you’re relating to is that many of these physicians have a conflict of interest.  You’re asking them, what should I do?  But they’re a surgeon or they’re a radiation doctor.  And as a medical oncologist, I’m neither of the above.  This is somewhat uncommon, but you can recruit your urologist or your radiation doctor to help you by explaining at the outset that, “you, sir, will not be my treating doctor, but I definitely need your aid and your assistance in picking the right doctor.”  Liz:  [02:43] Now you may be thinking that you have cancer and you don’t have time to see all these people, but as we’ve mentioned, prostate cancer is slow growing.  So really taking that time to find the right doctor for you is crucial.  Dr. Scholz:  [02:56] Just yesterday, I saw a very sophisticated new patient who was feeling the rush job, the sense that the clock is ticking, and he did have a Gleason 9.  We consider that the High-Risk category of prostate cancer.  But, the idea that you have to make a decision within days or weeks is never substantiated by the literature and the science.  Patients can take several months to sort out what they want to do.  This sort of careful thoughtful process pays off in the long-term with better results.  Liz:  [03:29] So patients really need to take it under their control.  One of the things is to educate themselves.  In the past...

PSA (prostate-specific antigen) is essential for prostate cancer screening and monitoring. This episode explores the PSA controversy, explains why annual PSA screening is crucial, and talks about the importance of PSA testing for monitoring prostate canc

PSA (prostate-specific antigen) is essential for prostate cancer screening and monitoring. This episode explores the PSA controversy, explains why annual PSA screening is crucial, and talks about the importance of PSA testing for monitoring prostate cancer treatment. Understand the benefits and drawbacks of PSA, and use this incredible tool to your advantage. Dr. Scholz:  [00:03] We’re guiding you to treatment success and avoiding prostate cancer pitfalls.  I’m your host, Dr. Mark Scholz.  Liz:  [00:10] And I’m your cohost, Liz Graves. Dr. Scholz:  [00:13] Welcome to the PROSTATE PROS podcast. Al Roker:  [00:16] I’ve been feeling great, but my doctor discovered I had an elevated PSA level in my blood work, PSA standing for prostate-specific antigen.  It’s the first line of defense when detecting possible prostate cancer. Dr. John Torres:  [00:32] Today, an influential medical task force is changing those screening guidelines.  Now, urging all men ages fifty-five to sixty-nine to talk to their doctor about getting a PSA test.  Men ages seventy and older should not get screened. Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo:  [00:46] This should really be a personal choice that a man makes together with his doctor, and the goal of these conversations is really to understand benefits and harms. Dr. John Torres:  [00:57] Previously experts…  Liz:  [00:58] There’s a lot of confusion and hesitation surrounding PSA screening.  What are the proper steps?  What do you do if the PSA test does come back abnormal?  This episode, Dr. Scholz and I are going to talk about the importance of PSA testing, what a high PSA actually means, and what the best steps to take are to further investigate. Dr. Scholz:  [01:21] The PSA blood test has been around since 1987, about the time my career started it up.  I can’t tell you how revolutionary this blood test has been.  Really, we don’t have another blood test like this for other cancers.  In some ways, PSA makes prostate cancer a much easier cancer to treat.  In other ways, like any powerful tool, if it’s misused, it can create confusion and problems.  I hope we’ll be able to bring some clarity to why this blood test can be controversial.  Liz:  [01:57] Everyone knows that PSA tests for prostate cancer.  PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen.  And when this is screened annually in men, it is to look for prostate cancer, but that is not all that PSA does. Dr. Scholz:  [02:15] The problem with PSA as a screening tool and PSA is used for other things besides screening.  But, as a screening tool, men still have a prostate gland.  Typically if they have a small tumor in their prostate, the lion’s share of the PSA is actually coming from the gland, the benign prostate, not the cancer.  This is where the confusion comes.  Men will have inflammation of their prostates, and the PSA will be high.  Men will have enlarged prostates, and their PSA will be high.  Or, of course, they could have a low-grade, or a more consequential cancer, and their PSA could be high.  One savvy patient once told me, tell your patients to think of the PSA as a check engine light on the dashboard of your car.  Something’s going on in the prostate, it could be cancer, and it could be one of these other causes.  Liz:  [03:12] When a PSA comes back elevated, taking time to understand what that means is crucial.  PSA can be a great tool to tell people they have prostate cancer, but it also has all of these other possible complications.  In 2011, the US Task Force advised against PSA testing.  Why was this Dr. Scholz? Dr. Scholz:  [03:35] Small cancers that don’t spread are the root difficulty w...

Prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate gland that can affect PSA and cause symptoms such as urinary frequency and urgency, fever, and pelvic pain. Prostatitis can be difficult to identify and hard to treat. This episode discusses diagnosing prostati