Wednesday's Health Report: New developments in prostate cancer treatment can lead to quicker recovery
BATON ROUGE — Nearly 300,000 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2024, According to the American Cancer Society.
Treatments include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy, radiation and robotic surgery. Experts say advancements in robotic prostate surgery are making it easier for patients to get back on their feet.
About 1 in 8 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Many of those patients undergo surgery to get rid of the cancerous tumor.
"Most of the time, prostate cancer is a slower-growing type of tumor,” urologist Matthew Tollefson said.
Tollefson says surgery is a common option for many men, especially if the cancer is contained in the prostate.
"Surgery is a common treatment for prostate cancer, especially when we can confirm that the tumor is contained to the prostate. Obviously, physically removing it could then cure one from cancer,” Tollefson said.
Medical innovation has improved cancer removal procedures, and now there's an upgrade to robotic prostate surgery.
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"Instead of all of the instruments coming in through separate incisions, they come in through a single incision, and the robot is able to then branch out within the abdomen and remove the prostate that way,” Tollefson said.
He says patients have a faster recovery and reduced pain with the single-port robotic procedure.