Excluding skin cancer,
prostate cancer is the most
common type of cancer among American men.

According to the American
Cancer Society, an estimated
220,900 new cases of prostate
cancer are diagnosed in the
U.S. every year.

Men over the age of 45 who
are in high-risk groups, such as
African-American men and
men with a family history of
prostate cancer, should have a
prostate-specific antigen
(PSA), blood test and digital
rectal exam (DRE) once every
year.

Prostate cancer is becoming
more survivable; over the past
20 years, the overall survival
rates for all stages of prostate
cancer combined have
increased from 67 percent to
97 percent. Treatment options
include hormonal therapy, surgery,
radiation, chemotherapy,
and watchful waiting. Early
diagnosis is critical. Metastasis
from the prostate to nearby
lymph nodes, bones or other
organs may be fatal.

“The Diagnosis and
Treatment of Prostate Cancer”
will be the subject of the GCC
Science Lecture Series on
Thursday, Oct. 27, at noon in
SB 243. It is free and open to
the public.

The presentation will be
given by Dr. James Lau, Chief
of Urology at Kaiser
Permanente Panorama City
Medical Center. He is also on
the clinical faculty at UCLA
Department of Urology. Lau
will discuss the causes, natural
history, prevention and treatment
of prostate cancer in the
course of his lecture.