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Dr. Richard Bevan-Thomas MD: What is prostate cancer? Prostate cancer is a cancer that starts
in the prostate. 99% of prostate cancers are what's referred to as adenocarcenoma. Adenocarcenoma
is a type of cancer and as a result, we grade that cancer. And just like many cancers, we
evaulate that in terms of the aggressiveness of that disease. There'll be a separate video
on here discussing the Gleason score. But more importantly, you're first question is,
why did I get this? Well, nobody knows for sure. Patients with a family history have
an increased risk of potentially developing prostate cancer. African-American men, unfortunately,
have an increased risk of of developing prostate cancer. There are also environmental roles
in terms of diet as well as potential chemicals and toxins that may also be related to this
as well. But at the end of the day, try not to beat yourself up too much. We've found
a focus of prostate cancer and the most important thing is to come up with the correct and the
best treatment plan for you. At USMD Cancer Center, we're here to find that for you and
go forward.
Some prostate cancers are high risk, aggressive, and more likely to spread. Others are low
risk, least likely to have bad outcomes. The biopsy says cancer, but current diagnostic
tools provide limited information about how aggressive a man's individual disease is,
so most men decide to treat prostate cancer immediately. Once treated, many men experience
serious long-term side effects like incontinence and *** impotence. Immediate treatment
is not always needed, but right now a man can't be sure if his cancer is the kind that
is likely to require treatment or if he is okay to wait for now. What if there was a
test that could determine how aggressive prostate cancer is. Genomic health is developing a
new test to do just that. By reviewing the underlying biology of the tumor and using
genes from multiple biologic pathways, the test can predict the aggressiveness of prostate
cancer when diagnosed, allowing a man to make a more informed treatment decision with confidence,
taking care of himself with more information and greater peace of mind.