Symptoms & Diagnosis
While early-stage prostate cancer usually doesn’t cause symptoms, advanced prostate cancer can feel like or lead to:
- Back, hip or pelvic pain
- Blood in your urine (hematuria) or semen
- Frequent, painful or burning urination
- Painful ejaculation
- Trouble starting urination or emptying your bladder
- Weak urine flow
You know your body best, and if you think you are feeling any symptoms or seeing signs of prostate cancer, reach out to your doctor so we can learn more about what might be causing them.
Finding prostate cancer early increases your chances of a successful treatment. That’s why we offer standard prostate cancer screenings to help identify any issues before they become problems. These screenings include annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests starting around age 50 unless you have other risk factors which may necessitate earlier screening.
You may have an ultrasound to check your prostate if these initial tests are abnormal. Your doctor may also recommend tests including prostate MRI, 4K score, IsoPSA and SelectMDx for risk stratification before a prostate biopsy.
We offer an office-based biopsy or MRI-guided biopsy. These imaging tests can be done using either transrectal or transperitoneal approaches. If your doctor finds a tumor, they gather tissue samples (biopsies) to learn more about your tumor.
If these tests find cancer, we refer you for a cancer consultation with an oncologist who specializes in treating prostate cancer. This expert reviews your test results and medical history to learn more about your diagnosis and form a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
We know learning you have prostate cancer can feel scary. That’s why we are committed to seeing you for a cancer consultation as quickly as possible — often within 48 hours — after your diagnosis so we can discuss treatment options, order additional tests and address any questions without delay.
Treatments
You deserve a personalized care plan tailored to your needs and specific prostate cancer. Each week, the Cancer Care team convenes a tumor board that brings together experts from across disciplines to collaborate on customized care plans for you. This collaboration has one common goal — to make sure you get the best possible care. Our multidisciplinary team, including urologists, radiologists and pathologists who work alongside surgical, medical and radiation oncologists, is here to care for you through every part of your treatment. This tailored approach to your care has helped us achieve higher cure rates for early-stage tumors and life-prolonging results for more advanced stages of prostate cancer.
If your care team diagnoses your cancer at a very early stage, you might not need treatment right away and we may recommend active surveillance. That means we will keep an eye on your tumor and be ready to treat it when the time comes, including with a combination of surgery, radiation and focal therapy that is right for you.
El Camino Health also offers high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), a minimally invasive, nonsurgical, radiation-free approach to treat prostate cancer.
Surgery
Your doctor may recommend surgery to treat your prostate cancer. Your surgeon will discuss surgical options and make a recommendation on a case-by-case basis. We offer prostate procedures using minimally invasive and robotic-assisted methods, which help to save your nerves and protect your bladder control. El Camino Health was the first hospital in the region to perform robotic prostatectomy in the early 2000s. El Camino Health has performed more than 20,000 cases with the daVinci robot.
Radiation
Your care team may recommend radiation treatment to eliminate your prostate cancer. Radiation oncologists at our Radiation Treatment Center have treated thousands of patients, and we use state-of-the-art radiation treatments, including stereotactic radiosurgery, adaptive radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy, to treat prostate cancer with speed and precision. We also offer brachytherapy, or internal radiation therapy, that places high-dose radiation close to your tumor to shrink or destroy its cells. These methods also allow for higher doses in fewer treatment sessions than traditional radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat more advanced forms of prostate cancer. We work with you to determine if chemotherapy is a good option for your prostate cancer and collaborate on the right combination of anticancer drugs, anti-nausea medicine and pain medication for your needs. El Camino Health is also at the forefront of hospitals using targeted therapy, a precise approach that finds a unique combination of drugs to combat your prostate cancer. We analyze your tumor to learn about its protein and chemical makeup, then use the latest research to find which drugs will have the greatest impact fighting it.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy, also known as biologic therapy, is a treatment that empowers your immune system to fight cancer by helping your body find and attack prostate cancer cells. Our experts are skilled in using checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy that can shrink or slow the growth of tumors. This treatment may be used alone or alongside targeted drug therapy to treat advanced prostate cancer.
Clinical Trials
We are always looking for the next opportunity to improve detection, ease treatment and find better cures for your prostate cancer. That’s why we collaborate with other medical centers and the National Cancer Institute on prostate cancer clinical trials like innovative chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
If you’re interested in participating in this leading-edge research, talk to your care team to find a study that’s right for you.
Cancer Awards & Accreditations
Our superior Cancer Care has earned us a three-year accreditation as a comprehensive community cancer program from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Accreditation ensures that the care you receive right here in your community is high-quality and uses evidence-based, national treatment guidelines.
We’re also an ACS Surgical Quality Partner and committed to the highest surgery standards.
Patients rate us highly, too. Based on PressGaney patient satisfaction surveys, our “likeliness to recommend” score is over 90%, and we’ve won the top patient experience award multiple years in a row.
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Cancer Patient Stories
You are our inspiration. Hear how El Camino Health Cancer Care has helped other patients beat cancer — and how we can support you at every step of the way.
