What is prostate cancer?

What is prostate cancer? Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers to occur in men. Prostate cancer grows inside the prostate which is a small walnut sized gland situated below the bladder, it surrounds the urethra and is positioned just in front of the rectum. The prostate exam, prostate symptoms, prostate cancer, and BPH (see “What is BPH?”) is performed, diagnosed and treated by urology specialists (see What is a urologist?).

“What is prostate cancer?”, will cover prostate cancer doctors, prostate cancer symptoms and diagnostics, prostate cancer surgery, prostate cancer adjunct treatments, and prostate cancer recovery and follow-up. Prostate cancer is determined with a prostate biopsy, which entails taking approximately 12 small pieces of prostate tissue using local anesthesia so that pain is not felt. The prostate biopsies are viewed under a microscope by a pathologist who then grades the prostate cancer by the type of cells, where the cancer cells were located, and how many cancer cells were found.

Prostate cancer is diagnosed further with x-rays and other imaging tests, to determine if the prostate cancer has traveled to other areas of the body. Prostate cancer comes in several versions but 95% of prostate cancer patients have adenocarcinoma.
Prostate cells can transition from a normal prostate cell into a prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and then into a prostate cancer cell (adenocarcinoma in most cases) that divides and multiplies faster than the normal prostate cells. This faster than normal cell growth, forms into tumors, that are felt as hard lumps in the prostate when the urology specialist performs a digital rectal exam (DRE). The urologist calls them prostate nodules, which are then diagnosed with a prostate ultrasound with prostate biopsies.

Prostate cancer surgery has grown into several modalities that started with the traditional open radical prostatectomy (prostatectomia) and prostate radiation, prostate cryosurgery, and laparoscopic prostate removal soon followed. As technology advances so does medicine allowing the above minimally invasive prostate surgery procedures to improve. The most recent improvement in prostate cancer treatment is da Vinci surgery commonly referred to as robotic surgery. This has given the urology specialists the ability to see the prostate and the surrounding nerves, blood vessels and organs with an enhanced magnified 3 Dimensional view. Urologic surgery (also see “what is urology?”), using the da Vinci robotic system, allows the surgery to be performed without the shaking of the surgical instruments that is present in the motion of the human hand (surgeons hands). Prostate cancer surgery using the robotic system is called da Vinci prostatectomy and is the specialty of Dr. Fernando Bianco and the Miami Urology Specialists team.

The “What is prostate cancer?” website is brought to you by the world renowned Urology Specialist center lead by a team of urologists that specialize in urologic oncology and robotic surgery that includes the founding Chief of Robotic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center Dr. Bianco, Dr. Maximiliano Sorbellini, and the Founder of Urology Specialists Dr. Edward Gheiler. You can visit our large South Florida centers by either requesting an appointment online or by calling (305) 822-7227. We also have an Ask the Doctor Blog so that you can ask the specific questions that you may have. Our team of medical experts has also created urological supplements to help with specific urinary symptoms, disorders, and your efforts in preventive medicine.  The Natural alternative medicine online store is a collaboration with the Holistic Specialists center that offers 4 levels of therapy using functional medicine, nutrition, acupuncture therapy, and herbal therapy to repair under lying cause that may become serious medical problems. The next page of our “What is prostate cancer?” website covers the prostate cancer doctors.

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