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Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin have taken a leading role in prostate cancer treatment and prevention year after year by providing patients with experienced doctors, accessible resources, and the latest technology in cancer care.
Nationally Recognized Expertise
Our physicians have the most cryosurgery and prostate cancer surgery experience in the state, and their expertise has been recognized on state and national levels. This year, Milwaukee Magazine named William See, MD, the best urologist in the city. U.S. News and World Report went so far as to place Dr. See in the top 50 best doctors in the country. The expertise of our doctors has helped put the Prostate Cancer Program in the national rankings for urology centers. In 2002 and 2003, U.S. News and World Report placed Froedtert in the top 50 urology centers in the country.
A Research Center
Because it has the full resources of an academic medical center at its disposal - plus the necessary expertise and a large patient base, the Prostate Cancer Program is able to participate in significant national clinical trials — many of them funded by such recognized cancer organizations as the National Cancer Institute. These trials investigate everything from combining treatments to new drugs and surgical methods, options in blood and marrow transplantation, and studies that examine the biology and geneology of prostate cancer cells.
New Ways to Use Chemotherapy
The VIP study is exploring the relationship between chronic prostate gland inflammation and prostate cancer. This clinical trial is investigating whether it’s possible to prevent the disease for men in a high-risk category by using a drug currently approved to treat arthritis and inflammation.
Physicians in the Prostate Cancer Program are also conducting the "Therion" study to take a closer look at new drugs that could use a patient’s own immune system to fight prostate cancer.
Prevention
One example of a large, multi-institution clinical trial is the SELECT study. The Prostate Cancer Program successfully recruited 150 men within two years for this study, the largest one examining prostate cancer prevention ever funded. SELECT, which examines the role of selenium and vitamin E in preventing prostate cancer, is a National Cancer Institute-funded clinical trial.
National Data Bank
The Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Repository is a major research tool for prostate cancer researchers around the country, allowing investigators to find answers to important cancer questions in months, instead of the years required if this tissue data bank was not available. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin are participating in this National Cancer Institute-funded project, along with George Washington University Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.
Cancer ScreeningSpecialists in the Prostate Cancer Program want to be sure all men at risk for prostate cancer undergo the proper screening process to maximize the likelihood of early detection and successful treatment. Most hospitals offer a free prostate cancer screening once a year. At Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, we make free screening available to our patients Monday through Friday, 52 weeks a year. The screening is always in the same location, and we allow men to call in to reserve a time or stop by and sign up if they’re already in the hospital. To schedule an appointment, call 414-805-3666 or 800-272-3666. Our expert staff will check each patient’s PSA level (a blood test that looks for the level of prostate specific antigens that may indicate cancer) and examine the prostate gland free of charge. Our year-round screening program is one of a kind; no other hospital makes prostate cancer screening as accessible as we do at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Risk Factors Men who may be at risk for prostate cancer and who should consider a screening include:
- Men who are over 50 years of age and haven’t had a prostate screening in the past 12 months.
- African-American men over the age of 40 and who haven’t had a prostate screening in the past 12 months.
- Men who are over 40 and have a close relative (father, brother) who has had prostate cancer.
Rapid PSA Option
For men with prostate cancer, the PSA is a critical piece of information to assess their condition. We understand the anxiety patients experience while waiting for their PSA test results — in some cases, this test is the first indication that a cancer has returned. At Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, we use state-of-the-science technology to obtain PSA results in just 15 minutes — faster than ever before. The Rapid PSA service is unique to Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, so prostate cancer patients won’t find it at any other hospital. When our patients come in for their PSA test, they want to know their condition as soon as possible. They don’t want to leave the hospital and wait for a phone call. With the Rapid PSA test, we can tell them in 15 minutes. Right there, on the spot. We go over the test results with each patient one-on-one, face-to-face. If our patients have concerns about the results, they can find out about them in real time and ask questions of our specialists right away instead of waiting by the phone. (Rapid PSA screening is an option available for a fee.)
Author: Cassandra M. Profita Source: Dr. William See, Chief of Urologic Surgery, (8/10/04) Last Review Date: Aug. 13, 2007 Online Editor(s): Christopher Sadler |
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