St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings

Pontiac, Mich.—St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO) will offer free prostate cancer screenings from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in the Robin L. and James E. Henderson Medical Clinic, located on the first floor of the hospital.  SJMO is located at 44405 Woodward Ave., Pontiac.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer, other than skin cancer, found in American men.  It also is the second leading cause of cancer death in men.  The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that in 2009, there will be about 192,280 cases in the U.S., with 27,360 deaths from the disease. One in six men will get prostate cancer in his lifetime.

 But there’s hope.  Early detection has been found to save lives.  Two tests are available to determine if prostate cancer is present.  A Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Blood Test involves drawing a small amount of blood from the arm, which is examined for high levels of PSA—a protein produced by prostate cells that is released in very small amounts in the bloodstream.  A Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) checks for abnormalities in the prostate.

 Many health experts encourage men age 50 and up get annual PSA and DRE tests. Men under 50 should get screened if they have a family history of prostate cancer or other risk factors.  Prostate risk factors are:

            · Family history:  The risk is higher if a man’s father, brother or son has prostate cancer.

• · Ethnic group:  Prostate cancer is more common in African American men, but the reason why is unknown.
• · Diet:  Some studies suggest a diet rich in red meat or high-fat dairy products can cause an increased risk.

 “In our continuing effort to improve the health of the people of our community, we are pleased to make this screening available,” said Jack Weiner, SJMO president and CEO.  “We hope that men will take advantage of this vitally important, life-saving screening.”

 Men who are interested in having the screening should register by calling St. Joseph Mercy Oakland’s referral line at 1-800-372-6094.  Walk-ins also are welcome.

The Future of Prostate Surgery is Here… in SE Michigan!

With Mani Menon, MD

Robots. You hear that word and you may think of R2-D2 from Star Wars, or maybe you think of the robot from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. Maybe, if you work on the line for the Big Three, you actually think of the big machines that help put the cars together. Most people wouldn’t think about robots in medicine unless it was in some sci-fi show. But, robots are here. And, they are helping patients right here in Southeast Michigan.

Unfortunately, prostate cancer is something that many men will face in their lifetime. In the past, men had only a few options when it came to treating the disease, especially if discovered in its later stages.

These options included chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical intervention. Each has their drawbacks, but with the advent of robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy surgery, a procedure that was invented and perfected here in Detroit, the surgical route is now a better option than it has ever been.

Dr. Mani Menon and his team at the Vattikuti Urological Institute at Henry Ford Hospital developed the surgical technique to utilize the daVinci™ Surgical System on prostate cancer. The procedure is aptly named the “Vattikuti Institute Prostatectomy” or VIP.

The VIP is the first minimally invasive system used for a major cancer. It has been used to perform almost 3,000 procedures since it’s development in 2001 and is the foundation for the technique now performed all around the world.

“The daVinci Robotic Surgical System has brought the computer age to the operating room,” says Dr. Menon, describing this new system’s impact on the future of surgical medicine. “Patients can now expect faster recovery times, with very little blood loss, and less adverse events than in the past.”

Historically, surgical intervention for prostate cancer was done through a large incision in the abdomen (large enough to allow the surgeon’s hands access to the prostate) and left many men with complications such as incontinence and impotence. The daVinci system utilizes small cameras and pencil thin tools to minimize trauma and speed up recovery times.

When a patient undergoes the robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy surgery, they are prepped and the robot is moved in to place. The robot’s four arms and their associated devices are inserted into the body through much smaller incisions than were previously required.

While the surgical team monitors the patient, the surgeon is actually several yards away working at a special station. This station has a binocular-like viewing port to allow the surgeon a 3D, high definition view of the surgical site. The surgeon’s hands and fingers are placed into the control devices allowing him to make very precise movements that are then carried out by the robot.

The robot’s computer system performs thousands of safety checks per second and also corrects for any tremors or unwanted movement of the surgeon’s hands. It is this new precision that makes it possible to spare the vital nerves to the area and minimize the incidence of incontinence and impotence.

According to Dr. Menon, “The surgeon and the entire team work in a virtual 3D world and are able to plot out their actions and review them prior to implementing them.” This virtual world also makes the system ideal for teaching the procedure to future surgeons.

“The increased cost of the procedure is transparent to the patient. It ends up costing the hospital about $2000 more than the traditional procedure, but this (cost) is offset through increased volume and efficiency,” said Dr. Menon.

Men have traveled from over 22 countries and all 50 states to have the procedure done here in Michigan. One case involved a man stationed at the McMurdo station in Antarctica who flew to Detroit to have his surgery and returned to work in Antarctica shortly thereafter.

This high-tech procedure is revolutionizing the way physicians can treat patients. If you are facing a prostatectomy now, or in the future, you should be glad to know that several of these $1.5 million robots, and the team that developed the surgery, are right here in your backyard.

Dr. Menon, M.D., is chairman of the Department of Urology at the Henry Ford Health System, the Rajendra and Padma Vattikuti Distinguished Chair in Oncology and Director of the Vattikuti Urology Institute. Dr. Menon is tenured professor of urology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland. He graduated from JIMPER Pondicherry and did his residency in Urology at the Brady Urological Institute at John Hopkins, Baltimore.