10 VITALITY Fall 2024 Protect your health Call the CMH Urology Surgical Clinic at 417-326-2550 for more information about prostate cancer screening, diagnosis or treatment. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, but there is good news. Regular PSA screenings can detect cancer early. Screening and diagnosis A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA level in the blood. Your primary care physician can run this test. All men ages 50 to 70 should have yearly PSA screenings. “Those with increased risk should begin screening at a younger age,” says Mark Walterskirchen, M.D., a board certified urologist with the CMH Urology Surgical Clinic in Bolivar. “High risk includes a family history of prostate cancer or breast cancer. We also recommend screening at a younger age for African American men.” A urologist will do a biopsy to confirm a diagnosis. The procedure takes about 10 minutes, and patients can resume normal activities the next day. Results usually are available in three to five days. Treatment options Because prostate cancer comes in many forms, treatment options will vary. Each patient has a specialized treatment plan. Common options include: No treatment. Continued monitoring includes blood tests every three to six months and a periodic biopsy. Robotic laparoscopic removal of the prostate. The two-hour procedure uses five tiny incisions to remove the prostate. Patients will go home the same day or the next morning after the surgery. Recovery is from two to four weeks. “The surgery allows us to remove the entire prostate, and in some cases the lymph nodes, to identify exactly what’s going on with the cancer,” Dr. Walterskirchen says. Radiation therapy. This is an option for patients who are not interested in surgery. Cryoablation. The procedure freezes the prostate to destroy the cancer. Dr. Walterskirchen is one of the few physicians in Missouri who perform this procedure. “It involves placing six small needles in the prostate, freezing it with argon gas and then removing the needles,” Dr. Walterskirchen says. “We usually monitor folks overnight and send them home the next day.” REGULAR PSA SCREENINGS Key to detecting prostate cancer early
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