PSA OR NOT? THAT IS THE QUESTION James

W. Young, III, M.D., grew up in a small town in Arkansas, moved to Eustis in 1982, and has been a highly respected practicing urologist in Lake County for more than 33 years. He is a single father to 3-year-old Grace Genevieve.

His caring and respectful attitude toward patients is evidenced by his continuous commitment to innovation in his field, as well as just down-home courtesy—he doesn’t make patients wait hours to see him. Dr. Young believes it is important for men to receive the best care possible—and says the first step should be PSA Screening.

The PSA is a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Testing for Prostate Cancer, and the current controversy regarding PSAs is one that continues.

“When everybody was getting PSA’s, rarely would we diagnose someone with prostate cancer before it had spread—because prostate cancer has no symptoms,” says Dr. Young.

Dr. Young explains further, “The problem was, as we started detecting prostate cancers earlier and earlier, there were a lot of men who had a small number of non-aggressive prostate cancers that were treated who probably didn’t need to be treated. We know that now. We didn’t know that then. There were men who were treated with radiation or surgery, who could have simply been followed with watchful waiting also known as active surveillance and done well.”

“Due to these issues, the pendulum swung too far the other way where governmental agencies came out in favor of PSAs not being recommended, which, to me, is very foolish,” says Dr. Young.

Even though the PSA is, admittedly, not a perfect test, the fact remains that it indicates whether you need to go one step further for an ultrasound, and then possibly a biopsy. Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men in the U.S. today and since PSA’s have come out, 30,000 fewer men die of prostate cancer in the United States each year. It appears logical that the PSA continues to be a worthy tool in the fight against this silent killer.

Dr. Young advises all men be PSA tested by age 50, and if you are African American, or have a family history of prostate cancer, by age 40.

What happens if a man is diagnosed with BPH, or a nonmalignant enlarged prostate?

For many years, there were two options to treat BPH: surgical excision via an open operation (incision) or the more common procedure of TURP, which is a transurethral resection of the prostate. Both required hospitalization as well as major anesthesia and carried possible complications such as infection, bleeding, loss of bladder control, and even death.

Medications came as a later option for the symptoms of BPH, such as a need to urinate frequently, even at night. However, these medications brought negative side effects of their own. The longer one took the medications, the less effective they became. Additionally many caused sexual side effects.

In 2005 Dr Young began an in office procedure TUNA, later known as Prostiva RF therapy, which was an in office procedure that used low frequency radio waves to destroy the obstructing component of the prostate using conductive energy, or heat. Dr Young performed over 3000 of these procedures, more than anyone in the world.

More recently, an innovative new treatment is being practiced in the office of the Prostate Evaluation Center by Dr. Young, called Rezum.

Rezum is a transurethral needle ablation procedure to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) that Dr. Young performs in his office using local pain relievers. Rezum uses radiofrequency heated water vapor thermal energy to destroy prostate tissue with convective energy, which destroys even more prostate tissue that obstructs the flow of urine causing symptoms such as hesitancy, frequency, urgency, irregular flow, weak stream, straining, and getting up at night to urinate. Using a hand-held device, radiofrequency energy is applied to a few drops of water to create vapor (steam). The water vapor is injected into the prostate tissue that is blocking the flow of urine from the bladder, where it immediately turns back to water, releasing the energy stored in the vapor into the cell membranes. At this point, the cells are gently and immediately damaged, causing cell death. Over time, the body absorbs the treated tissue through its natural healing response. Dr. Young says, “I am very happy with the results I have achieved for my patients using Rezum therapy.”

Benefits:

• Potential alternative to BPH medications

• Relieves symptoms safely and effectively

• Provides noticeable symptom improvement within two weeks

• Simple in-office/outpatient therapy

• Does not require general anesthesia

• Preserves sexual and urinary functions

• Allows patients to return to regular activities within a few days

If you want to hear more about issues regarding men’s health, you’re invited to Dr. Young’s free educational event at The Waterfront Inn at 1105 Lake Shore Drive, in The Villages on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. He will discuss the importance of PSA screening, as well as the revolutionary treatment for nonmalignant, enlarged prostate (BPH) called Rezum. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to 352.480.1001.

Prostate Evaluation Center

808 Highway 466, Lady Lake, FL 32159

ProstateEvaluation.com

352.480.1001