Prostate & Urologic Cancer

Overview

While screening is the best way to detect colorectal cancer early, you should contact your doctor if you experience:

• Changes in bowel habits lasting more than a few days
• Blood in your stool or rectal bleeding
• Persistent abdominal discomfort, cramps, or pain
• Unexplained weight loss
• Weakness or fatigue

Your body’s genitourinary system includes the organs, glands and tubes that make up your urinary and reproductive systems. Urolog​ists are doctors who specialize in both systems.

Our support services are an important part of any cancer treatment plan. Whether you need help coping with your diagnosis or want to talk to a financial counselor, we make sure you get the support you need.

Types of Genitourinary Cancers

At The Christ Hospital, we treat all genitourinary cancers with a special focus on:

• Prostate cancer—occurs in men in a small gland called the prostate, which sits between the bladder and penis.
• Bladder cancer—begins in your bladder, which stores urine.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. And although bladder cancer affects women too, it occurs among men three to four times more often.

Early Detection & Screening 

Prostate cancer can be detected early, before you have symptoms. Talk to your primary care doctor about your risk factors for prostate cancer, including your age, race and family history. They can help you decide what type of test may be right for you and when you should be screened.

There are two main types of screening tests:

• Digital rectal exam (DRE)—a simple, quick way to check for problems of the prostate and other organs and structures in the pelvis. 
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test—measures the amount of PSA in your blood, which increases as a man’s prostate enlarges with age. A higher amount of PSA may be a sign of infection, enlarged prostate, inflammation or cancer.

Even though a cancer diagnosis is scary, there is good news. Prostate cancer is often slow-growing. That means it can be detected early enough to treat it successfully. Bladder cancer is usually found at an early stage, making it highly treatable.

Prostate Cancer Care Team