At the meeting, tell us What's Going On?
You Talk. We Listen. We Share.
Tell a little about yourself...
As much or as little as you like:
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your name, age, where you're located, insurance...
and what you know so far
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Your diagnosis: how and when you found out - PSA? Biopsy?
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Where are you getting treatment?
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What have your doctors told you?
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Do you know your PSA, Gleason Score, PI-RADS​
How can we help?
Things We Talk About a Lot
We don't give medical advice, but we follow guidelines and share a lot of experience.
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You'll hear some themes and terms that recur over and over. Learn about them here.
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We follow the NCCN and PCF Guidelines, for Early Stage and Advanced Stage patients.
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An MRI-guided (fusion) biopsy gives better information.
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It's well worth while getting a second pathology opinion.
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Active Surveillance is often a good option.
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It helps to know your Gleason Score and PI-RADS
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Genomic tests
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It's important to keep your own set of records.
Guidelines
The Prostate Cancer Foundation and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) maintain excellent patient guides to Prostate Cancer.
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Terminology
The Basics
The list below explains the principal terms you want to know initially, and the page Take Charge of Your Prostate Cancer will help you develop a measured and educated strategy. When you are ready to go deeper, you'll find more comprehensive definitions on the Terms to Know page, links to a wealth of helpful information on the Resources page, and details of encouraging developments for prostate cancer management in our Presentations Library.
Active Surveillance
Small tumors and low-grade prostate cancer usually grow very slowly. Active surveillance for prostate cancer is a management strategy where the cancer is closely monitored rather than treated immediately - so no side effects. (Two of our Board members are on Active Surveillance - one of them for more than ten years.)
Genomics Testing
Genomic tests for prostate cancer can help predict how likely a tumor is to spread, how aggressively it will grow, and the risk of recurrence after surgery.
Gleason Score
A Gleason score is a number (usually assigned by a pathologist) that describes the grade of prostate cancer and helps determine treatment options:
MRI Fusion Biopsy
An MRI fused ultrasound biopsy of the prostate is a procedure that combines MRI and ultrasound images to create a 3D model of the prostate, which helps doctors more precisely target suspicious areas for biopsy.
PI-RADS
The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score is a 5-point scale that radiologists use to indicate the likelihood of clinically significant prostate cancer in an MRI scan.