Prostate Cancer

Doctors use a blood test called a PSA test and an exam called a rectal exam to check for prostate cancer. In a rectal exam, your doctor or nurse puts a finger in your anus and up into your rectum. He or she presses on the rectum wall to feel for abnormal areas on the prostate.

If prostate cancer is suspected, your doctor or nurse will follow up with one or more tests. These tests may include:

• Biopsy—A doctor will take a small sample of tissue from the prostate. Then another doctor will look at the sample under a microscope to see if it has cancer.
• Ultrasound, MRI scan, or other imaging tests—these tests create images of the inside of the body and can show abnormal growths. (link to prostate MRI on radiology page)

If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may be a candidate for prostate surgery. Surgeons at Catholic Medical Center typically perform a laparoscopic robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, a minimally invasive technique that reduces the problems and risks associated with traditional open prostate surgery. Patients usually experience less bleeding and discomfort and recover faster with fewer complications following the minimally invasive surgical approach. Patients from across the Northeast have come to Catholic Medical Center for a minimally invasive laparoscopic robot-assisted radical prostatectomy since it was first offered at CMC in 2003.