Prostate Insights Quarterly Newsletter | Winter 2017, Volume 20, Issue 4
By Peter Scholz // PCRI Creative Director
Hello Researcher, welcome to the winter issue of Prostate Insights, we are pleased to bring you exciting news about PCRI and present useful educational insights about new developments in prostate cancer. In this issue we discuss the following topics. -
Registration for our 2018 Moyad + Scholz Mid-Year Update on March 24th, 2018 in Los Angeles is now open. For only $20, you have access to a full day of lectures and Q+A with leading medical professionals. You don't want to miss this one-of-a-kind event. See page 4 for details about this year's topics and speakers.
Many treatment options are becoming available for men with advanced prostate cancer. More treatments are becoming FDA-approved and widely available. But an area that shows promise is genetic testing, the ability to use drugs with effectiveness in other types of cancer. Using modern genetic tests, it is now easier for doctors to determine if these drugs will have a beneficial effect. The article written by Mark Scholz, MD on page 5 covers some of these tests and presents a patient’s case report.
Active Surveillance is an excellent option for men who have specific types of prostate cancer. Even though it has less side effects than immediate treatment, active surveillance comes with its own set of challenges. Mark Lichty, a patient, support group leader, and PCRI conference breakout speaker, describes his personal journey which has spanned more than a decade of living with the disease. See page 6.
SpaceOAR is a recently FDA approved procedure that helps to reduce or eliminate one of radiation therapy's worst potential side effect, a non-healing rectal burn. Our educational writer, Alexandra "Xan" Oakley, covers general information about SpaceOar and measures to take before and after the procedure. See page 9.
Our 2017 Prostate Cancer Conference was a resound-ing success, enabling patients access to leading experts and creating a collaborative environment to learn about the disease and meet other prostate cancer survivors. Xan reviews the topics covered at the event and other highlights on page 10.
In this issue:
2018 Moyad + Scholz Mid-Year Update
Genetic Testing and the Future of Prostate Cancer Treatment | By Mark Scholz, MD
12 Years on Active Surveillance | By Mark Lichty
Things to Know about SpaceOAR | By Alexandra "Xan" Oakley
2017 Prostate Cancer Conference Recap | By Alexandra "Xan" Oakley
On page 12, PCRI proudly to announces a new re-source called the PCRI Staging Guide. This handbook, which is also available on our website, contains information about every significant treatment that patients will choose from, but what’s more, it comes with a quiz that assigns men to a stage which narrows down the treatments to the ones that apply to each unique stage.
Once again, thanks for picking up our newsletter and for your ongoing support of the PCRI’s mission. I’m sure you will gain useful information that will help you build a good context and a strong foundation for accurate and up-to-date information we provide. Have a happy and blessed holiday season.