Fresno, CA (1888PressRelease)
September 03, 2009 - Despite the fact that 1 out of 6 men will get prostate cancer, and 80 percent of men who reach age 80 will come down with the disease, many men are failing to get recommended screenings. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men (behind only lung cancer) according to the American Cancer Society. 1 in 35 men will die of the disease. However, when diagnosed early, the survival rate is almost 100 percent.
This month is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and studies show that most men are not getting annual PSA (prostate specific antigen) screenings, as they should be. It is recommended that men undergo an annual PSA screening beginning at age 50, or beginning at age 40-45 for men with a strong history of prostate cancer in the family. Despite the recommendation, studies show that only 33 percent of U.S. men age 50-64 had a PSA screening in the past year.
Approximately 192,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. In the early stages of prostate cancer, the disease stays in the prostate and is not life threatening. But without detection and treatment, cancer can spread to other parts of the body and eventually cause death. Approximately 40,000 men die every year from prostate cancer that has spread.
Recent studies have shown that CyberKnife is equally effective in treating prostate cancer as traditional radiation methods. CyberKnife reduces the treatment time to 1-5 days as opposed to the traditional treatment time of 2 months.
Oncology Care Providers at the California Cancer Center in Fresno is making experts available to the media this month to discuss the risks, treatment, and prevention options.
Contact:
Diana Jackin
(559) 472-7148
djackin ( @ ) thielenideacorp dot com
Jennifer Tookoian
(559) 708-0609
jtookoian ( @ ) communitymedical dot org
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