A team of experts at Memorial Sloan Kettering shared their insights on prostate cancer and men’s health in an Information Session for patients, caregivers and those at increased risk for the disease.
Members of the MSK community joined the session to have their most pressing questions answered. Topics ranged from treatment advances, to how to manage the side effects of treatment and other ways men can be proactive about their overall health. The panel was moderated by James Eastham, MD, Chief of MSK’s Urology Service and a surgeon who specializes in prostate cancer. It also featured experts in Sexual Health, Nursing, Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology.
“We know that close to 200,000 men can be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the United States, but not everybody has the same type of cancer,” shared Dana Rathkopf, MD, a medical oncologist who cares for men with prostate cancer. She discussed the importance of understanding your Gleason Score when it comes to choosing the right treatment approach. “They’re not all the same type of the aggressiveness. And so, we need to need to figure out ways to tailor treatments appropriately.”
“Risk is important because that will guide how a man is treated or at least what his options for treatment are,” added Dr. Eastham. “Not all prostate cancers require immediate treatment, those that are considered to be a low risk can actually be monitored which is a whole process of what’s called active surveillance and active surveillance means rather than using any kind of treatment, we basically monitor patients.”
MSK plans to continue these Patient Information Sessions on a regular basis to help address concerns from our larger community on a variety of cancer-related issues. Information on upcoming sessions and a recording of previous sessions can be heard on our website here.
