Movember, Men’s Health Month: the importance of awareness and prevention
3 minutes read
- Prostate cancer is among the main threats to men’s health, affecting approximately 1 in 6 men.
During the last quarter of the year, ultrasounds, bone density scans, breast MRIs and multiparametric prostate MRIs, as well as radiotherapy treatments, will be free of co-payment at HOMS for both men and women.
Santo Domingo: November is Men’s Health Month, thanks to the international Movember movement, created to raise men’s awareness of the need to look after their health, with prostate cancer one of the most common threats they face.
This cancer, like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, causes no symptoms in its early stages, explains Dr. David Samadi, urologic oncologist at Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (HOMS) and author of the book Hablemos de Hombres.
Like other cancers, prostate cancer is defined as an uncontrolled proliferation of malignant (cancerous) cells, in this case in the prostate gland. It is a disease that does not cause symptoms until it is very advanced, which is why it is considered a silent killer. Approximately 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer. “That’s why we emphasise regular preventive check-ups,” says the specialist.
He says this disease has been studied extensively throughout medical history, and as a result some factors associated with its onset have been identified, such as older age, especially after 50, being African American, and a family history of prostate cancer and breast or ovarian cancer.
Other factors include a high-fat diet and/or obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. These factors are associated with the development of prostate cancer; however, the most important is a family history of prostate cancer, or genetic factors, stresses the robotic prostate surgery specialist.
When to see a urologist, and diagnosis
The director of the surgery programme at the “Samadi-Homs-Robotic Institute” says every man over 40 should see his urologist for an assessment, at least with a blood test. But of course, the population at highest risk is older men (60 years). “If you are over 40 and have a family history of prostate cancer, you should go for an assessment; early detection is very important for any diagnosis.”
This condition can be detected with a simple blood test (PSA) or a digital rectal exam, although a diagnosis will always need to be confirmed by a prostate biopsy.
Treatments
Samadi, who developed the SMART surgery technique for removing a cancerous prostate, explains that treatment options initially depend on the type of prostate cancer and the patient’s characteristics. These therapies range from active surveillance (no intervention) to removal of the prostate. Among surgical approaches, robotic surgery is superior in terms of cancer control and a lower risk of complications.
Advantages of robotic prostate surgery
Robot-assisted prostate surgery, performed by an experienced surgeon following proper protocol, tends to be associated with better cancer control, a shorter recovery period and a lower risk of complications such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence.
Surgery using the SMART technique can be performed in 1 to 1.5 hours, compared with other approaches and surgeons that take 4-6 hours.
Time in the operating theatre directly affects recovery time. The shorter the operation, the shorter the recovery and the lower the risk of complications.
“My patients walk 4 hours after surgery and are discharged the next day; the catheter is removed 7 to 10 days after the operation, and after 15-20 days they can start returning to their daily activities,” explains the oncologist, who has performed more than 680 robotic prostate surgeries at the Samadi-Homs-Robotic Institute on patients aged 40 to 75.
For preventive check-ups with Dr. Samadi at the Samadi-HOMS Robotic Oncology Institute in Santiago, call 809-399-0569 for a free phone consultation.
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