November 20, 2024 • 32 mins
Talked with Dr. Kiminyo, Vice President T Leroy Jefferson Medical Society. They have a community education initiative going on now regarding Prostate Cancer awareness. November has the Movember movement which focuses on Men's health issues such as: mental health, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and colorectal cancer. Young black men show a higher risk of suicide, so awareness is super important, 988 crisis line is available for help at anytime. Black men are also at higher risk for prostate cancer and should be screened at 45 instead of 55. They run a PSA test that measures the level of PSA in the blood. Imaging may also be used if levels are high. Colorectal screenings are also important, listeners can talk with their doctors about all of these issues. They can request an education seminar from TLJ by going to https://tljmedicalsociety.org
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
iHeart Communities presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective, which Dad Now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, dev Nev. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things going on, and if you
haven't been yet, you want to check this out. They
have got the Lighthouse sunset tours that happened throughout the month,
and also do the really fun yoga out on the
patio under the tree and it's really fun. Definitely recommend that,
and simply go to Jupiter Lighthouse dot org and all
(00:29):
the details are right there for you, or you can
call Nora seven three to two seven seven nine seventy
nine sixteen and she'll be happy to give you more
information about that. So Jupiter Lighthouse dot org for more
details on that. And also do the really fun yoga
out on the patio under the tree and it's really fun.
Definitely recommend that. And then we have also got at
more coming museum in Japanese gardens. They've got Akira, which
(00:52):
is the architecture of Neotokyo, going on now through April
sixth of next Year's a nice exhibition happening, and they
also do the tai Chi classes and functional fitness at
the gardens on and I believe Tuesdays and Thursdays in
the morning. So fun thing to check out. Loston Yonkers
is happening. Palm Beach Drama Works. They've got a great
season this year. It's twenty fifth anniversary that's going on
(01:14):
now through I believe November twenty fourth. They extended it
due to popular demand, which is really awesome, So they've
got a great season lined up. Definitely check all that out.
And if you want to do some more yoga and
you live a little bit further north, you can do
Stretch by candle lights evening yoga glasses at Museum Point Park,
part of the Saint Lucie County Park System. So it's
(01:35):
going to be starting every Tuesday from six to seven
pm as of November nineteenth, so give them a call
it the Fen Center seven seven to two four six two,
fifteen twenty one for more details on that. And also
at the Fen Center this year, they're hosting Brunch with
Santa and that's coming up on December fourteenth. Fun thing
for the kids in the family. It's gonna be from
(01:56):
nine am till noon. Again, give them a call seven
seven to two four six two fifteen twenty one for
all the ticket information and details on that. Yeah, and
next week we're going to talk to Blake from green
Kay Nature Center. They're doing a really cool the Friends
of Green Kay Nature Center Wildlife Celebration coming up on Saturday,
(02:17):
December seventh from nine am to three pm. And the
location is, of course eckeren K which is one two
eight zero zero Hagen Ranch Road in Boyton Beach. All
kinds of exhibitor, interactive things with the kids, the parents,
the company, all guided nature tours, the annial ambassadors will
be there. They're really fun, lots of crafts and stuff
like that and help them raise awareness about mental health,
(02:40):
the benefits of being out in nature, environmental awareness and
you'll inspire some creativity, imagination and the wei ones. So
definitely want to check that out and we'll talk more
about that next week. And of course Saint Lucie County
Christmas Boat Parade is coming up, so if you want
to sign your boat up for it, want to reach
out to the Fort Pierce Yacht Club. So it's really
(03:03):
fun something you can reach out to. Michelle at six
three one, seven zero seven twenty seven zero five, and
that's going to be just a lot of fun. I
always love watching the boat parades, and this one's happening.
The Captain's meeting is going to be December twelfth, and
so definitely do all that and they'll give you all
the details on how your boat can participate or he's
(03:23):
come out and enjoy it. Oh and then coming up
on December third, it is the Sunshine Kitchen Student Culinary Cookoff.
It was scheduled earlier but got rescheduled do the hurricane.
So it's a really cool thing. The students come out,
compete and they can win up to like fifteen hundred
dollars in prizes. It's a really short time. They get that,
they're given the foods, they make the little thing, the
(03:44):
judges test it, and then there's a winner based on
you know, they're plating the taste and flavor combinations, how
they well they work as a team, their knife skills,
all the fun things. So definitely want to sign up
to check that out. For details, give Eric a call
seven seven to two for six two seventeen ninety one.
(04:05):
And of course this is a little bit early, but
when you get your tickets ahead of time for this
Culture and Cocktails is coming up and it happens at
the Bend. This is their twentieth anniversary season and the
first one is called Laughlines. It's going to be January
sixth a chat with award winning comedy writer Alan's Wible.
So definitely a lot of fun. Go to Palm beachculture
(04:25):
dot com to get your tickets because they sell out
very fast because it's very limited space there at the Bend,
but it's a beautiful setting, so you definitely gonn check
that out. And also a reminder, Saint Lucie County Human
Services is accepting applications for their twenty twenty four WPSL
Christmas Kids Toy Program. So if you get the snap
benefits and you meet the certain income requirements, just apply
(04:48):
and they will give you the details for that. Call them.
It's seven seven to two for six two, seventeen ninety
one and they'll tell you where to go on the
website to sign up for that, which I think is
really nice. And of course lots of things coming up.
We have helping folks with Thanksgiving. Greg Hazel, he's the
executive director for Boca Helping Hands. They're doing the thing
(05:10):
where you can just reach out to them at the
website Boca Helpinghands dot org and donate twenty nine dollars
and seventy two cents and then you sponsor a box
of all the Thanksgiving food for a family of four.
So I think that's fantastic. So either way you can
go get one or you know, or you can donate meals.
Either way, Boca Helpinghands dot org to donate for the
(05:32):
thirty dollars for box. That's a great deal, Kenn, go
out to dinner for thirty bucks and they can feed
four people for that. I'm very impressed. Speak of being impressed,
I want to welcome my guest for today. I have
doctor Cameno from the t. Leroy Jefferson Medical Society. Thank
you so much for coming back in again. I really
appreciate you guys helping out and donating your time like this.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Well, thank you, deb It's a real honor to return.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
So tell us a little bit about t Leor Jefferson.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
T L.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Jefferson Medical Society was started over seventy five years ago
here in Palm Beach County. We were named after the
very first African American physician here in Pombach County Til Jefferson,
also known as the bicycle doctor who used to visit
families riding his bicycle door to door. And so we
are collective of essentially minority physicians and healthcare providers helping
(06:25):
to serve the underserved in Palm Beach County. And we're
basically made up of physicians and pharmacists and dentists and
nurse practitioners and you know, physical therapists and everyone who
basically come together not only network and not only mentor
our younger students in the health field, but also provide
services for those who needed.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And you help each other out like mentor each other.
Absolutely peer to peer mentoring.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yes, yes, we have peer to peer mentoring. We have
mentoring for college students who are looking at going into
medical school. We have opportunities to help mentor others in
the community as we you know, battle whether it's COVID
or you know, prostate cancer or any other issue that's
facing our community.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, and that's funny that you mentioned COVID because your specialty.
As a listener, they remember from our last conversation, you're
the infectious disease doctor.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I am so we were.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Talking before the show. You actually have an office, but
you spend a lot of time and a lot of
local hospitals seeing patients in hospital.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Correct, that's correct. I'm part of a larger infectious disease
group here in Palm Beach County and one of the
oldest actually, And fortunately when it comes to COVID, for example,
we are seeing you know, less people being admitted to
the hospital with COVID, But influenza and RSV continues to
circulate in our county and our speaks.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Really attacks the young folks and the older folks, right, absolutely,
so we have a higher demographic of retire researes that
makes sense. We have more rs.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
FAST absolutely absolutely to encourage people to you know, get
your influenza vaccines, and that goes not only out to
the community, but to the healthcare providers as well. And
RSV there is no treatment for it commercially available yet,
but there is an RSV a new RSV vaccine available
for those over the age of sixty five.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So go get your shots. I know, I go pick
up my medicine. Public so like, did you get your vaccine?
They always ask me because they're so nice. And if
I haven't, like I hadn't got my flu shot back
in August and there and at the end of August like,
oh we got those, we'll do that one. That's right,
come back in a couple of weeks for COVID, do it.
But I was like, okay, so every time I go,
they give me like the next shot, that's right, which
(08:36):
is so they've got me off to day, which I
think we talked before the show. I still need to
get the pneumonia.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, very important.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That was a long time ago, very important, and pnemonia
said a good about ten years right, Yes. And that's
another thing like like right before COVID, like I was
talking with my primary care, I didn't realize it as
an adult, I needed a booster for like measles, mumps, rebella,
all those detap, all those things.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yes, And it's I'm glad you mentioned that, deb because
you know, unfortunately we are seeing in the last several
years vaccine hesitancy with a lot of families in regards
to very simple but effective vaccines, childhood vaccines like measle,
mumps and rubella. And because of that, because of famili
has been reluctant to do that we've had, you know,
intermittent outbreaks of measles in schools all across the United States,
(09:24):
and so it's important to remind everyone that the reason
you don't see measles or polio or any of these
very horrific infections in our children is because of the vaccines.
And so we want to continue to encourage all our
families to keep up with their vaccines. And if you
need a boostres as an adult, definitely go do that
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, I had a couple uncles like when I grew up,
found out they did not know when they were younger,
they had got I believe with moms. Before they got
the vaccine, they were exposed to other kids that had
them so like em ready in the neighborhood, got them right,
and their fever got so high they became infertile.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
They did not know that until they were grown men.
They're like, had we known, you know, there was just
they were just so shocked, you know that that was
even that that could happen from that.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that, because there are
severe side effects and complications from these very treatable, preventable
I should say preventable infections and so things like measles
can lead to in some patients encephalitis and children can
end up in the hospital and children can die. As
(10:33):
you pointed out, mumps, momps can cause paratitis, It can
cause other complications including architis and men and subsequently infertility.
So yes, we don't want any of these infections, these
easily preventable viral infections from getting worse, and nor would
you want your children to grow up with any of
these kind of complications. So we're asking at Tilroy Jefferson
(10:57):
to ensure that all family families continue with their routine
childhood vaccines.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And if they ever have any questions, I know they
can just reach out to you guys and you'll get
them connected with wherever they can get the.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Absolutely And again Tljmedicalsociety dot org. Tljmedicalsociety dot Org is
our website and you will find a lot of information
there as to this and any other medical issue.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And one of the other cool things you do at
the society is you do I'm going to call it
a county initiative, and the one obviously for November, is
talking about prostate cancer. Because November is the November which
is the men's health movement, which includes you know, talking
about suicide awareness, getting counseling for mental health issues because
(11:43):
mental health issues over fifty percent of them develop before
the age of twenty five.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that as well, because
in the African American population, we know that afric American
men specifically have about four times the risk of suicide
compared to the general population, and the actual the statistics
have actually shown that the rate of increase from twenty
(12:10):
ten to twenty twenty in that ten year period showed
the highest increase in suicide in that specific population, which
is African American men. So this is another area that
Tilroy Jefferson is looking at and trying to improve not
only diagnosis, but access to treatment for not only African
(12:30):
American men, but basically for everyone who doesn't have access
to mental health care, which is very important. So we
have individuals in our organization that are geared just for that.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
That's fantastic. And I know I spoke to the folks
from two one one several about several months ago, and
of course their newest latest improvement was the nine to
eight to eight number, So you can call two one
one if you have a question about any of the
programs are available. You need meal on wheels for your grandma,
for yourself, you need to know what kind of like
(13:05):
you need mobility, like you need a van to drive
you whatever medical equipment. They can send you to the
right place. And they also help if you're having a crisis.
They I believe received enough calls that they realized that
they needed a dedicated line. So if you call nine
eight eight, you are immediately twenty four to seven connected
(13:26):
to somebody who will help you whatever the mental crisis
you're having. And it could be that you're just feeling
super sad and blue and you literally just do not
know what to do right at that moment. You can
call that number right then excellent, there's no judging they're
there to help. They'll do that. You can also still
call two one one and they have somebody there to
help you as well, So if you don't remember nine
(13:47):
eight eight, that's okay. Two one one is going to
get you the information you need as well. But if
you can go either way, and they also have like
text options and stuff if you prefer to text, which
I think is very good. And of course the other
parts of men's health is you know, testicular cancer, the
colorectal cancer, which we're going to talk about, but I
think the big one most people think of, and I
(14:09):
know my friend's dad passed from prostate cancer and that
was really we all learned a lot. Like I didn't
know what the treatments were, they were pretty intense. So
let's talk about that. So absolutely, what exactly is prostate cancer?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
So the prostate gland is a gland in men that
is found wrapped around the urethra in men, that is
a It is a gland that produces hormones, that sex hormones,
and it is a gland that in men naturally can
(14:46):
enlarge over time. And that is not cancer. That's called
benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH. The problem is in many
men that BPH, that enlargement of the prostate can turn
into cancer. And so what we have recognized over the
last several years is that there's actually, quite frankly a
(15:07):
pandemic of prostate cancer, especially among African American men. Now, remember,
prostate cancer remains the second most cancer in men across
the board, black or white. Unfortunately, the risk of getting
prostate cancer is almost double in African American men as
well as the increased risk of death from prostate cancer.
(15:29):
And we know that many people, African American men specifically,
you could almost name anyone you know in the media
has experience, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Everyone from
Harry Belafonte to Al Roker, to the late Colin Powell
and Sidney Potier, even most recently Alonzo Mourning. You know,
(15:53):
all of these individuals were diagnosed with prostate cancer. And
so as it turns out out if you look at
the data from the CDC, one in six African American
men will actually be diagnosed with some level of prostate cancer.
So this is why we're calling it a pandemic of
prostate cancer in black men. Which is why it's so
(16:14):
important to get to the screening process.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
So what exactly is the screening process? Because I know
men are sometimes very resistant to going to the doctor
till their wife makes them go to the doctor.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Absolutely, and because prostate cancer is known as a silent killer,
it's difficult to know. You know, It's one thing when
you tell women and breast cancer to feel for a lump,
you know, even though that may be difficult to learn,
how to do with prostate cancer, it's a lot more sinister,
and so the current recommendations are for men starting at
(16:49):
the age of fifty five through sixty nine. This is
across the board, to go see their physician and get
what's called a PSA and that is a prostate's pacific antigen.
This is a marker that is produced in the prostate gland.
And so what we're looking for is an elevated PSA.
(17:10):
So we know that there's a certain level that is
considered normal for your age, but if it's beyond that
normal range and it's elevated, it could indicate early signs
of prostate cancer. So the recommendation was to go to
a doctor and get a blood test. It's a blood
test to look for this PSA. Now when they're checking
your cholesterol and yeah, all that stuff, they can check
(17:30):
for that as well.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Absolutely, so now they go and maybe it's a little
bit elevated, then you go like into more of an
active surveillance mode.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Absolutely, And when it comes to Afri American men, the recommendation, however,
is to get that very same PCA that blood test
much sooner. Their recommendation for af American men is actually
started at ages forty and okay, so I'm fifty two,
so I should have already, you know, been having this
(17:58):
test done on a record a basis, on an annual basis,
which is a recommendation. An annual PSA for black men
should be starting from age of forty. But to your point, deb,
once we know that you know we're concerned or we're
making sure that someone doesn't have prostate cancer. Part of
an exam, and this is a very sensitive issue for
(18:20):
some men when it comes to their physical exam, is
the d and what is the DRE. That is the
digital rectal exam. And so when you are seeing your doctor,
part of that exam, if there's a concern, and even
if there isn't a concern, should always include a digital
rectal exam. And what is the doctor looking for. They're
(18:40):
basically looking to feel for an enlarged prostate gland. Because
of where the prostate gland is, you can actually feel
for it when you do a digital rectal exam when
the doctor puts his hand in there, you can actually
feel if the prostate is enlarged and swollen. And if
it is, that along with an elevated PSA now puts
(19:02):
you on track towards a more you know, intensive work
up to rule out prostate cancer.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
But that exam is key early detection.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Absolutely, the PSA is part of it. But the DRE
is also a key part of that because in some cases,
someone may have a normal PSA, but there they're DRE
may be abnormal. And so if someone's DRE is abnormal,
then you want to pursue the work up a little
a little further.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Gives you more of the like almost like the patient history,
like it's your family, my family, there's a risk of diabetes. Yes,
so I get tested. You know, they've done the test
with you drink, they really serve these sweet stuff and
they take your blood test and test and test came
back normal. But because from a history they.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Did that, you're absolutely correct. And if you do have
a family history, and if we're talking about men, where
you know you're asking your your father, your uncles, your grandfather,
you know, did daddy ever have prostate cancer? If the
answer is yes, then you know you should consider getting
your PSA and your digital record exam performed. If you're
over the age of forty.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Are there preventative things you can do to help like
reduce your risk, Like I know for breast cancer patents
to like be healthy, be active, and it can help
reduce recurrence.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
So that's a very good question, and I don't think
there's a really good answer about that. Of course, like
with much of the other cancers, you know, reducing your
smoking and your alcohol intake and keeping your weight within
you know, a normal range, you know, whatever normal is. Yes,
is all meant to be helpful, But there isn't anything
(20:39):
specific that we can say you should stop doing other
than the fact that you know, if you have a
family history and as you get older, if you notice
changes in two things, one your urination and two your
ejaculation during sex. If you've noticed that there's a change
(21:00):
that shouldn't occur or you're or it's something that is
happening before you anticipate, then you may want to bring
that up to your physician, to your local doctor and say, hey,
I've noticed there's been a change either in my sex
life or in my urinating and I needed to work
it up.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh definitely, yeah, and again always mention it. I know
love people are uncomfortable talking about those things, and like
we've talked before when I initially had breast cancer. I
was super embarrassed. I don't want to tell anybody after
we went through all that, But when it came back,
I'm like, oh, this is just ridiculous. We sho going
to talk about this and get that out on the table.
People were so helpful and supportive, and they're like, and
(21:39):
then you find out a lot more information. They found
out a lot more information. Some of them actually got
checked and checked early enough that they were treated and
they're fine, but because they met me. So it's kind
of a weird thing that, you know, but it's always
tell people go talk to your doctor, or if you
don't feel talk to the past or a church. He'll
(21:59):
can you with somebody to come to a screening discreetly.
If that's what you need, that's.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Right, that's right. And so, you know, one of the
things we like to do is most recently, for example,
we we we had a men's health Night with the
Tillroy Jeffson Medical Society and we invited men to meet
us at a local lounge and it was just for us,
and we we had an opportunity to talk about just
(22:27):
this issue and about you know, the taboo around prostate
cancer and UH and how you diagnose it and what
does it mean when when your doctor says your PSA
is elevated And and yes, there are a lot of
questions out there and we feel that you know, not
enough people know about prostate cancer.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Well yeah, and also like just because your PSA might
be a little high, don't panic that that's also on
something we want to put out there.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Absolutely, absolutely, there, there's there's There are certainly times when
we advise a watch and wait approach, but this again
has to be done in conjunction with your doctor, so
do not take this upon yourself. We certainly encourage people
to talk to their family members if they're not comfortable
(23:12):
talking to a physician about you know, what they want
to do next. And certainly that's what we encourage to
do at TLJ Jefferson Medical Society is having conversations with
people who may be able to guide you, because one
approach is to watch and wait. You know, I had
a good friend of mine. I have a good friend
of mine who was very good about getting his PSAs
(23:33):
checked regularly and then stopped checking them for a while
because he moved from a different state to Florida, and
once he started picking up his health screenings again with
his new doctor noticed that his PSA was elevated, and
so you know, he pulled me aside and we talked
about it, and you know, we went ahead and discussed
(23:55):
what to do next, which included imaging, taking pictures of
that area to see if there's any evidence of not
only an in large prostate, but was there evidence of
any disease outside of the prostate, which is very important
when it comes to prostate cancer because it can spread
if it's not taken care of.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I know also for some folks, like I've read
somewhere like men are like their eighties, pretty much all
of them have some kind of prostate issue, whether it's
be the BPH where it's enlarged, yes, or they may
have like a very slow growing version of prostate cancer.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
That's right. And so that's why screening is not suggested
for people over the age of seventy, because we all
at that point we almost expect everyone to have some
degree of prostatic enlargement. And so as long as there's
no evidence of an active, spreading cancer, then there's no
role for doing screening. Again, screening meaning we want to
(24:54):
get to the people early enough so we can do
something about it, because prostate cancer does have a tendency
if untreated to and so one of the first things
you do when you see a doctor after you've receive
your PSA levels and it's elevated is to do a biopsy.
And prostate biopsy is something that's done by a physician,
usually a urologist, and we have plenty of them in
(25:17):
Palm Beach County and it's a procedure that's done in
the urologist office. It's very straightforward, painless procedure to do,
and once they do the biopsies, they can make a
determination as to how bad or not the prostate cancer is,
depending on how involved the cancer cells are in the
(25:39):
gland itself. And though based on that information, once you
have the biopsy, then you can move on to possible
treatment options.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And of course, the other thing we want to talk
about today as well, since we're in that general region
of the body, is the colorectal cancer. So what exactly
is that? Because I know I had to have a
colonoscity to rule that out. All good, Thank good? I
was like, wait what now?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Right? So colorectal cancer remains now the number three most
common cancer in men, and unfortunately, much like prostate cancer,
African American men are disproportionately more affected by colarectal cancer
as far as being diagnosed and as far as morbidity
and mortality when it comes to that. So, as it
(26:23):
stands now, screening has been suggested from ages forty five
and up in general. However, if you, like prostate cancer,
have a history of someone in your family with the
same cancer, and now we're talking about colorectal cancer, if
you have any kind of family relative with that history,
it's recommended that you have your screening done earlier. So
(26:43):
what is screening screening is basically a stool test, a
fecal blood test that is checked to see if there's
any evidence of bleeding or blood in your stool, and
then based on that the screening colonoscopy, which which is
usually done every ten years. That's where they put the
endoscope through your entire colon, or they can do a
(27:06):
what's called a sigmoidoscopy, which is not as long, just
looking at the very early part of your colon, the
sigmoid colon. That's done every five years. So based on
your your stool test, based on your your imaging, then
the doctors can make a recommendation as to whether they
need to go in and do we need to evaluate
for any polyps, because that's what we're looking for. We're
(27:28):
looking for signs of any abnormal growths in the colon
and to remove them before they wait.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And then they remove and they biopsye them BIPs and
they make sure they make sure they're benign or not denige.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Or not and if they're not benign, chemotherapy and surgery
remains the mainstay for correctal cancer. Chemotherapy and surgery, unlike
prostate cancer, where chemotherapy has not been very effective. In
prostate cancer, what has been shown to be effective is
radiation therapy and UH and surgery.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
You my friend's dad had prostate cancer. We took before
the show, and he had some kind of radiation with
it looked like grains of rice and he explained that
that way to us kids that they were injected and
then they use that and that treatment for I don't
know how many months or whatever.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
That's right, So that's breaking therapy. That's where we actually
put radioactive seeds into the prostate gland and that way
you kind of burn the cancer out of the prostate,
and that's one way. There's also external beam radiation where
you don't have to have anything invasive done. You're just
laying on a table and they're shooting radiation at the
prostate to burn the cancer. Uh. And then in some cases, unfortunately,
(28:39):
you do need the prostate removed, and that is that's
an option as well. And then of course if the
cancer has already spread beyond the prostate, UH, there's there's
there's what we call hormonal treatments available to treat that
as well.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
From when I had the breast cancer, I want to ask,
they gave me tomoxifen because mine was extrogen receptor positive
and weighs it blocks the estrogen so the cancer won't
grow again. Is that what the hormone one is for
prostate exactly?
Speaker 3 (29:08):
And because the prostate gland is a gland that produces hormones.
In some cases, if you cannot contain the prostate cancer
and you're worried that it has spread, meaning metastatic disease,
there is what we call androgen deprived therapy ADT, and
(29:29):
that basically means where we're giving the patient medicine sort
of as an anti hormone to help keep any of
this possible malignant cancer cells that are floating around from spreading,
which is all good, Yes, which is all good. Absolutely
so basically, so.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
If you are forty you need to get the PSA test.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
If you're African American, the recommendations are for forty plus
for you to get your PSA checked annually.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yes, what about the colorectal cancer.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Colorectal screenings typically started forty five, but also earlier though,
if you're an African American.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
And if you have a family history.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
And if you have a family history, of course, the
sooner the better.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Right, Very cool. I think this is fascinating. The more
we know, the better we be.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yes, so thank you again for coming in and talking
with us. And again they can reach out to the
society at your website.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yes, Tljmedical Society dot org. That's Thljmedical Society dot org.
There's a phone number on there. If you want to
join us at any of our activities, you're more than
welcome to. You know, it's all about helping each other
in the community.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Oh yeah, And like they say, when the when the
water in the lake rises, all the boats go up.
So I think it's fantastic. So we're all helping each
other out by spreading the word and sharing the knowledge.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yes, yes, ask your friend whether he's had a PSA done.
That's what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I've got to ask him tonight.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So if you need help, if you want somebody to
come into a presentation to your men's group, they can
reach out to you as well.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Absolutely, and we're more than happy to speak to anyone
anytime about this and any other health issue affecting our community.
We're available to you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Oh yeah, and I know you do the different initiatives
throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
This is the because of the November month, you know,
men's health focus. Yes, we don't want to get the
word out about that. Absolutely, So if you need more information,
reach out to me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot
com and I'm happy to for the details onto you
and don't forget you always download the shows a podcast
on our iHeartRadio app. Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend.
(31:41):
I'm dev Nev and this has been my perspective. Remember
life is good, so be your healthieste and let's get
out there and live it until next week.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week from Palm Beach, Treasure Coast perspective
iHeart Communities presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective, which Dad Now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, dev Nev. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things going on, and if you
haven't been yet, you want to check this out. They
have got the Lighthouse sunset tours that happened throughout the month,
and also do the really fun yoga out on the
patio under the tree and it's really fun. Definitely recommend that,
and simply go to Jupiter Lighthouse dot org and all
(00:29):
the details are right there for you, or you can
call Nora seven three to two seven seven nine seventy
nine sixteen and she'll be happy to give you more
information about that. So Jupiter Lighthouse dot org for more
details on that. And also do the really fun yoga
out on the patio under the tree and it's really fun.
Definitely recommend that. And then we have also got at
more coming museum in Japanese gardens. They've got Akira, which
(00:52):
is the architecture of Neotokyo, going on now through April
sixth of next Year's a nice exhibition happening, and they
also do the tai Chi classes and functional fitness at
the gardens on and I believe Tuesdays and Thursdays in
the morning. So fun thing to check out. Loston Yonkers
is happening. Palm Beach Drama Works. They've got a great
season this year. It's twenty fifth anniversary that's going on
(01:14):
now through I believe November twenty fourth. They extended it
due to popular demand, which is really awesome, So they've
got a great season lined up. Definitely check all that out.
And if you want to do some more yoga and
you live a little bit further north, you can do
Stretch by candle lights evening yoga glasses at Museum Point Park,
part of the Saint Lucie County Park System. So it's
(01:35):
going to be starting every Tuesday from six to seven
pm as of November nineteenth, so give them a call
it the Fen Center seven seven to two four six two,
fifteen twenty one for more details on that. And also
at the Fen Center this year, they're hosting Brunch with
Santa and that's coming up on December fourteenth. Fun thing
for the kids in the family. It's gonna be from
(01:56):
nine am till noon. Again, give them a call seven
seven to two four six two fifteen twenty one for
all the ticket information and details on that. Yeah, and
next week we're going to talk to Blake from green
Kay Nature Center. They're doing a really cool the Friends
of Green Kay Nature Center Wildlife Celebration coming up on Saturday,
(02:17):
December seventh from nine am to three pm. And the
location is, of course eckeren K which is one two
eight zero zero Hagen Ranch Road in Boyton Beach. All
kinds of exhibitor, interactive things with the kids, the parents,
the company, all guided nature tours, the annial ambassadors will
be there. They're really fun, lots of crafts and stuff
like that and help them raise awareness about mental health,
(02:40):
the benefits of being out in nature, environmental awareness and
you'll inspire some creativity, imagination and the wei ones. So
definitely want to check that out and we'll talk more
about that next week. And of course Saint Lucie County
Christmas Boat Parade is coming up, so if you want
to sign your boat up for it, want to reach
out to the Fort Pierce Yacht Club. So it's really
(03:03):
fun something you can reach out to. Michelle at six
three one, seven zero seven twenty seven zero five, and
that's going to be just a lot of fun. I
always love watching the boat parades, and this one's happening.
The Captain's meeting is going to be December twelfth, and
so definitely do all that and they'll give you all
the details on how your boat can participate or he's
(03:23):
come out and enjoy it. Oh and then coming up
on December third, it is the Sunshine Kitchen Student Culinary Cookoff.
It was scheduled earlier but got rescheduled do the hurricane.
So it's a really cool thing. The students come out,
compete and they can win up to like fifteen hundred
dollars in prizes. It's a really short time. They get that,
they're given the foods, they make the little thing, the
(03:44):
judges test it, and then there's a winner based on
you know, they're plating the taste and flavor combinations, how
they well they work as a team, their knife skills,
all the fun things. So definitely want to sign up
to check that out. For details, give Eric a call
seven seven to two for six two seventeen ninety one.
(04:05):
And of course this is a little bit early, but
when you get your tickets ahead of time for this
Culture and Cocktails is coming up and it happens at
the Bend. This is their twentieth anniversary season and the
first one is called Laughlines. It's going to be January
sixth a chat with award winning comedy writer Alan's Wible.
So definitely a lot of fun. Go to Palm beachculture
(04:25):
dot com to get your tickets because they sell out
very fast because it's very limited space there at the Bend,
but it's a beautiful setting, so you definitely gonn check
that out. And also a reminder, Saint Lucie County Human
Services is accepting applications for their twenty twenty four WPSL
Christmas Kids Toy Program. So if you get the snap
benefits and you meet the certain income requirements, just apply
(04:48):
and they will give you the details for that. Call them.
It's seven seven to two for six two, seventeen ninety
one and they'll tell you where to go on the
website to sign up for that, which I think is
really nice. And of course lots of things coming up.
We have helping folks with Thanksgiving. Greg Hazel, he's the
executive director for Boca Helping Hands. They're doing the thing
(05:10):
where you can just reach out to them at the
website Boca Helpinghands dot org and donate twenty nine dollars
and seventy two cents and then you sponsor a box
of all the Thanksgiving food for a family of four.
So I think that's fantastic. So either way you can
go get one or you know, or you can donate meals.
Either way, Boca Helpinghands dot org to donate for the
(05:32):
thirty dollars for box. That's a great deal, Kenn, go
out to dinner for thirty bucks and they can feed
four people for that. I'm very impressed. Speak of being impressed,
I want to welcome my guest for today. I have
doctor Cameno from the t. Leroy Jefferson Medical Society. Thank
you so much for coming back in again. I really
appreciate you guys helping out and donating your time like this.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Well, thank you, deb It's a real honor to return.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
So tell us a little bit about t Leor Jefferson.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
T L.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Jefferson Medical Society was started over seventy five years ago
here in Palm Beach County. We were named after the
very first African American physician here in Pombach County Til Jefferson,
also known as the bicycle doctor who used to visit
families riding his bicycle door to door. And so we
are collective of essentially minority physicians and healthcare providers helping
(06:25):
to serve the underserved in Palm Beach County. And we're
basically made up of physicians and pharmacists and dentists and
nurse practitioners and you know, physical therapists and everyone who
basically come together not only network and not only mentor
our younger students in the health field, but also provide
services for those who needed.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And you help each other out like mentor each other.
Absolutely peer to peer mentoring.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yes, yes, we have peer to peer mentoring. We have
mentoring for college students who are looking at going into
medical school. We have opportunities to help mentor others in
the community as we you know, battle whether it's COVID
or you know, prostate cancer or any other issue that's
facing our community.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, and that's funny that you mentioned COVID because your specialty.
As a listener, they remember from our last conversation, you're
the infectious disease doctor.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I am so we were.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Talking before the show. You actually have an office, but
you spend a lot of time and a lot of
local hospitals seeing patients in hospital.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Correct, that's correct. I'm part of a larger infectious disease
group here in Palm Beach County and one of the
oldest actually, And fortunately when it comes to COVID, for example,
we are seeing you know, less people being admitted to
the hospital with COVID, But influenza and RSV continues to
circulate in our county and our speaks.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Really attacks the young folks and the older folks, right, absolutely,
so we have a higher demographic of retire researes that
makes sense. We have more rs.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
FAST absolutely absolutely to encourage people to you know, get
your influenza vaccines, and that goes not only out to
the community, but to the healthcare providers as well. And
RSV there is no treatment for it commercially available yet,
but there is an RSV a new RSV vaccine available
for those over the age of sixty five.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So go get your shots. I know, I go pick
up my medicine. Public so like, did you get your vaccine?
They always ask me because they're so nice. And if
I haven't, like I hadn't got my flu shot back
in August and there and at the end of August like,
oh we got those, we'll do that one. That's right,
come back in a couple of weeks for COVID, do it.
But I was like, okay, so every time I go,
they give me like the next shot, that's right, which
(08:36):
is so they've got me off to day, which I
think we talked before the show. I still need to
get the pneumonia.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, very important.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That was a long time ago, very important, and pnemonia
said a good about ten years right, Yes. And that's
another thing like like right before COVID, like I was
talking with my primary care, I didn't realize it as
an adult, I needed a booster for like measles, mumps, rebella,
all those detap, all those things.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yes, And it's I'm glad you mentioned that, deb because
you know, unfortunately we are seeing in the last several
years vaccine hesitancy with a lot of families in regards
to very simple but effective vaccines, childhood vaccines like measle,
mumps and rubella. And because of that, because of famili
has been reluctant to do that we've had, you know,
intermittent outbreaks of measles in schools all across the United States,
(09:24):
and so it's important to remind everyone that the reason
you don't see measles or polio or any of these
very horrific infections in our children is because of the vaccines.
And so we want to continue to encourage all our
families to keep up with their vaccines. And if you
need a boostres as an adult, definitely go do that
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, I had a couple uncles like when I grew up,
found out they did not know when they were younger,
they had got I believe with moms. Before they got
the vaccine, they were exposed to other kids that had
them so like em ready in the neighborhood, got them right,
and their fever got so high they became infertile.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
They did not know that until they were grown men.
They're like, had we known, you know, there was just
they were just so shocked, you know that that was
even that that could happen from that.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that, because there are
severe side effects and complications from these very treatable, preventable
I should say preventable infections and so things like measles
can lead to in some patients encephalitis and children can
end up in the hospital and children can die. As
(10:33):
you pointed out, mumps, momps can cause paratitis, It can
cause other complications including architis and men and subsequently infertility.
So yes, we don't want any of these infections, these
easily preventable viral infections from getting worse, and nor would
you want your children to grow up with any of
these kind of complications. So we're asking at Tilroy Jefferson
(10:57):
to ensure that all family families continue with their routine
childhood vaccines.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And if they ever have any questions, I know they
can just reach out to you guys and you'll get
them connected with wherever they can get the.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Absolutely And again Tljmedicalsociety dot org. Tljmedicalsociety dot Org is
our website and you will find a lot of information
there as to this and any other medical issue.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And one of the other cool things you do at
the society is you do I'm going to call it
a county initiative, and the one obviously for November, is
talking about prostate cancer. Because November is the November which
is the men's health movement, which includes you know, talking
about suicide awareness, getting counseling for mental health issues because
(11:43):
mental health issues over fifty percent of them develop before
the age of twenty five.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that as well, because
in the African American population, we know that afric American
men specifically have about four times the risk of suicide
compared to the general population, and the actual the statistics
have actually shown that the rate of increase from twenty
(12:10):
ten to twenty twenty in that ten year period showed
the highest increase in suicide in that specific population, which
is African American men. So this is another area that
Tilroy Jefferson is looking at and trying to improve not
only diagnosis, but access to treatment for not only African
(12:30):
American men, but basically for everyone who doesn't have access
to mental health care, which is very important. So we
have individuals in our organization that are geared just for that.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
That's fantastic. And I know I spoke to the folks
from two one one several about several months ago, and
of course their newest latest improvement was the nine to
eight to eight number, So you can call two one
one if you have a question about any of the
programs are available. You need meal on wheels for your grandma,
for yourself, you need to know what kind of like
(13:05):
you need mobility, like you need a van to drive
you whatever medical equipment. They can send you to the
right place. And they also help if you're having a crisis.
They I believe received enough calls that they realized that
they needed a dedicated line. So if you call nine
eight eight, you are immediately twenty four to seven connected
(13:26):
to somebody who will help you whatever the mental crisis
you're having. And it could be that you're just feeling
super sad and blue and you literally just do not
know what to do right at that moment. You can
call that number right then excellent, there's no judging they're
there to help. They'll do that. You can also still
call two one one and they have somebody there to
help you as well, So if you don't remember nine
(13:47):
eight eight, that's okay. Two one one is going to
get you the information you need as well. But if
you can go either way, and they also have like
text options and stuff if you prefer to text, which
I think is very good. And of course the other
parts of men's health is you know, testicular cancer, the
colorectal cancer, which we're going to talk about, but I
think the big one most people think of, and I
(14:09):
know my friend's dad passed from prostate cancer and that
was really we all learned a lot. Like I didn't
know what the treatments were, they were pretty intense. So
let's talk about that. So absolutely, what exactly is prostate cancer?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
So the prostate gland is a gland in men that
is found wrapped around the urethra in men, that is
a It is a gland that produces hormones, that sex hormones,
and it is a gland that in men naturally can
(14:46):
enlarge over time. And that is not cancer. That's called
benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH. The problem is in many
men that BPH, that enlargement of the prostate can turn
into cancer. And so what we have recognized over the
last several years is that there's actually, quite frankly a
(15:07):
pandemic of prostate cancer, especially among African American men. Now, remember,
prostate cancer remains the second most cancer in men across
the board, black or white. Unfortunately, the risk of getting
prostate cancer is almost double in African American men as
well as the increased risk of death from prostate cancer.
(15:29):
And we know that many people, African American men specifically,
you could almost name anyone you know in the media
has experience, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Everyone from
Harry Belafonte to Al Roker, to the late Colin Powell
and Sidney Potier, even most recently Alonzo Mourning. You know,
(15:53):
all of these individuals were diagnosed with prostate cancer. And
so as it turns out out if you look at
the data from the CDC, one in six African American
men will actually be diagnosed with some level of prostate cancer.
So this is why we're calling it a pandemic of
prostate cancer in black men. Which is why it's so
(16:14):
important to get to the screening process.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
So what exactly is the screening process? Because I know
men are sometimes very resistant to going to the doctor
till their wife makes them go to the doctor.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Absolutely, and because prostate cancer is known as a silent killer,
it's difficult to know. You know, It's one thing when
you tell women and breast cancer to feel for a lump,
you know, even though that may be difficult to learn,
how to do with prostate cancer, it's a lot more sinister,
and so the current recommendations are for men starting at
(16:49):
the age of fifty five through sixty nine. This is
across the board, to go see their physician and get
what's called a PSA and that is a prostate's pacific antigen.
This is a marker that is produced in the prostate gland.
And so what we're looking for is an elevated PSA.
(17:10):
So we know that there's a certain level that is
considered normal for your age, but if it's beyond that
normal range and it's elevated, it could indicate early signs
of prostate cancer. So the recommendation was to go to
a doctor and get a blood test. It's a blood
test to look for this PSA. Now when they're checking
your cholesterol and yeah, all that stuff, they can check
(17:30):
for that as well.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Absolutely, so now they go and maybe it's a little
bit elevated, then you go like into more of an
active surveillance mode.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Absolutely, And when it comes to Afri American men, the recommendation, however,
is to get that very same PCA that blood test
much sooner. Their recommendation for af American men is actually
started at ages forty and okay, so I'm fifty two,
so I should have already, you know, been having this
(17:58):
test done on a record a basis, on an annual basis,
which is a recommendation. An annual PSA for black men
should be starting from age of forty. But to your point, deb,
once we know that you know we're concerned or we're
making sure that someone doesn't have prostate cancer. Part of
an exam, and this is a very sensitive issue for
(18:20):
some men when it comes to their physical exam, is
the d and what is the DRE. That is the
digital rectal exam. And so when you are seeing your doctor,
part of that exam, if there's a concern, and even
if there isn't a concern, should always include a digital
rectal exam. And what is the doctor looking for. They're
(18:40):
basically looking to feel for an enlarged prostate gland. Because
of where the prostate gland is, you can actually feel
for it when you do a digital rectal exam when
the doctor puts his hand in there, you can actually
feel if the prostate is enlarged and swollen. And if
it is, that along with an elevated PSA now puts
(19:02):
you on track towards a more you know, intensive work
up to rule out prostate cancer.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
But that exam is key early detection.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Absolutely, the PSA is part of it. But the DRE
is also a key part of that because in some cases,
someone may have a normal PSA, but there they're DRE
may be abnormal. And so if someone's DRE is abnormal,
then you want to pursue the work up a little
a little further.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Gives you more of the like almost like the patient history,
like it's your family, my family, there's a risk of diabetes. Yes,
so I get tested. You know, they've done the test
with you drink, they really serve these sweet stuff and
they take your blood test and test and test came
back normal. But because from a history they.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Did that, you're absolutely correct. And if you do have
a family history, and if we're talking about men, where
you know you're asking your your father, your uncles, your grandfather,
you know, did daddy ever have prostate cancer? If the
answer is yes, then you know you should consider getting
your PSA and your digital record exam performed. If you're
over the age of forty.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Are there preventative things you can do to help like
reduce your risk, Like I know for breast cancer patents
to like be healthy, be active, and it can help
reduce recurrence.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
So that's a very good question, and I don't think
there's a really good answer about that. Of course, like
with much of the other cancers, you know, reducing your
smoking and your alcohol intake and keeping your weight within
you know, a normal range, you know, whatever normal is. Yes,
is all meant to be helpful, But there isn't anything
(20:39):
specific that we can say you should stop doing other
than the fact that you know, if you have a
family history and as you get older, if you notice
changes in two things, one your urination and two your
ejaculation during sex. If you've noticed that there's a change
(21:00):
that shouldn't occur or you're or it's something that is
happening before you anticipate, then you may want to bring
that up to your physician, to your local doctor and say, hey,
I've noticed there's been a change either in my sex
life or in my urinating and I needed to work
it up.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh definitely, yeah, and again always mention it. I know
love people are uncomfortable talking about those things, and like
we've talked before when I initially had breast cancer. I
was super embarrassed. I don't want to tell anybody after
we went through all that, But when it came back,
I'm like, oh, this is just ridiculous. We sho going
to talk about this and get that out on the table.
People were so helpful and supportive, and they're like, and
(21:39):
then you find out a lot more information. They found
out a lot more information. Some of them actually got
checked and checked early enough that they were treated and
they're fine, but because they met me. So it's kind
of a weird thing that, you know, but it's always
tell people go talk to your doctor, or if you
don't feel talk to the past or a church. He'll
(21:59):
can you with somebody to come to a screening discreetly.
If that's what you need, that's.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Right, that's right. And so, you know, one of the
things we like to do is most recently, for example,
we we we had a men's health Night with the
Tillroy Jeffson Medical Society and we invited men to meet
us at a local lounge and it was just for us,
and we we had an opportunity to talk about just
(22:27):
this issue and about you know, the taboo around prostate
cancer and UH and how you diagnose it and what
does it mean when when your doctor says your PSA
is elevated And and yes, there are a lot of
questions out there and we feel that you know, not
enough people know about prostate cancer.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Well yeah, and also like just because your PSA might
be a little high, don't panic that that's also on
something we want to put out there.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Absolutely, absolutely, there, there's there's There are certainly times when
we advise a watch and wait approach, but this again
has to be done in conjunction with your doctor, so
do not take this upon yourself. We certainly encourage people
to talk to their family members if they're not comfortable
(23:12):
talking to a physician about you know, what they want
to do next. And certainly that's what we encourage to
do at TLJ Jefferson Medical Society is having conversations with
people who may be able to guide you, because one
approach is to watch and wait. You know, I had
a good friend of mine. I have a good friend
of mine who was very good about getting his PSAs
(23:33):
checked regularly and then stopped checking them for a while
because he moved from a different state to Florida, and
once he started picking up his health screenings again with
his new doctor noticed that his PSA was elevated, and
so you know, he pulled me aside and we talked
about it, and you know, we went ahead and discussed
(23:55):
what to do next, which included imaging, taking pictures of
that area to see if there's any evidence of not
only an in large prostate, but was there evidence of
any disease outside of the prostate, which is very important
when it comes to prostate cancer because it can spread
if it's not taken care of.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I know also for some folks, like I've read
somewhere like men are like their eighties, pretty much all
of them have some kind of prostate issue, whether it's
be the BPH where it's enlarged, yes, or they may
have like a very slow growing version of prostate cancer.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
That's right. And so that's why screening is not suggested
for people over the age of seventy, because we all
at that point we almost expect everyone to have some
degree of prostatic enlargement. And so as long as there's
no evidence of an active, spreading cancer, then there's no
role for doing screening. Again, screening meaning we want to
(24:54):
get to the people early enough so we can do
something about it, because prostate cancer does have a tendency
if untreated to and so one of the first things
you do when you see a doctor after you've receive
your PSA levels and it's elevated is to do a biopsy.
And prostate biopsy is something that's done by a physician,
usually a urologist, and we have plenty of them in
(25:17):
Palm Beach County and it's a procedure that's done in
the urologist office. It's very straightforward, painless procedure to do,
and once they do the biopsies, they can make a
determination as to how bad or not the prostate cancer is,
depending on how involved the cancer cells are in the
(25:39):
gland itself. And though based on that information, once you
have the biopsy, then you can move on to possible
treatment options.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And of course, the other thing we want to talk
about today as well, since we're in that general region
of the body, is the colorectal cancer. So what exactly
is that? Because I know I had to have a
colonoscity to rule that out. All good, Thank good? I
was like, wait what now?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Right? So colorectal cancer remains now the number three most
common cancer in men, and unfortunately, much like prostate cancer,
African American men are disproportionately more affected by colarectal cancer
as far as being diagnosed and as far as morbidity
and mortality when it comes to that. So, as it
(26:23):
stands now, screening has been suggested from ages forty five
and up in general. However, if you, like prostate cancer,
have a history of someone in your family with the
same cancer, and now we're talking about colorectal cancer, if
you have any kind of family relative with that history,
it's recommended that you have your screening done earlier. So
(26:43):
what is screening screening is basically a stool test, a
fecal blood test that is checked to see if there's
any evidence of bleeding or blood in your stool, and
then based on that the screening colonoscopy, which which is
usually done every ten years. That's where they put the
endoscope through your entire colon, or they can do a
(27:06):
what's called a sigmoidoscopy, which is not as long, just
looking at the very early part of your colon, the
sigmoid colon. That's done every five years. So based on
your your stool test, based on your your imaging, then
the doctors can make a recommendation as to whether they
need to go in and do we need to evaluate
for any polyps, because that's what we're looking for. We're
(27:28):
looking for signs of any abnormal growths in the colon
and to remove them before they wait.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And then they remove and they biopsye them BIPs and
they make sure they make sure they're benign or not denige.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Or not and if they're not benign, chemotherapy and surgery
remains the mainstay for correctal cancer. Chemotherapy and surgery, unlike
prostate cancer, where chemotherapy has not been very effective. In
prostate cancer, what has been shown to be effective is
radiation therapy and UH and surgery.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
You my friend's dad had prostate cancer. We took before
the show, and he had some kind of radiation with
it looked like grains of rice and he explained that
that way to us kids that they were injected and
then they use that and that treatment for I don't
know how many months or whatever.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
That's right, So that's breaking therapy. That's where we actually
put radioactive seeds into the prostate gland and that way
you kind of burn the cancer out of the prostate,
and that's one way. There's also external beam radiation where
you don't have to have anything invasive done. You're just
laying on a table and they're shooting radiation at the
prostate to burn the cancer. Uh. And then in some cases, unfortunately,
(28:39):
you do need the prostate removed, and that is that's
an option as well. And then of course if the
cancer has already spread beyond the prostate, UH, there's there's
there's what we call hormonal treatments available to treat that
as well.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
From when I had the breast cancer, I want to ask,
they gave me tomoxifen because mine was extrogen receptor positive
and weighs it blocks the estrogen so the cancer won't
grow again. Is that what the hormone one is for
prostate exactly?
Speaker 3 (29:08):
And because the prostate gland is a gland that produces hormones.
In some cases, if you cannot contain the prostate cancer
and you're worried that it has spread, meaning metastatic disease,
there is what we call androgen deprived therapy ADT, and
(29:29):
that basically means where we're giving the patient medicine sort
of as an anti hormone to help keep any of
this possible malignant cancer cells that are floating around from spreading,
which is all good, Yes, which is all good. Absolutely
so basically, so.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
If you are forty you need to get the PSA test.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
If you're African American, the recommendations are for forty plus
for you to get your PSA checked annually.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yes, what about the colorectal cancer.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Colorectal screenings typically started forty five, but also earlier though,
if you're an African American.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
And if you have a family history.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
And if you have a family history, of course, the
sooner the better.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Right, Very cool. I think this is fascinating. The more
we know, the better we be.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yes, so thank you again for coming in and talking
with us. And again they can reach out to the
society at your website.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yes, Tljmedical Society dot org. That's Thljmedical Society dot org.
There's a phone number on there. If you want to
join us at any of our activities, you're more than
welcome to. You know, it's all about helping each other
in the community.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Oh yeah, And like they say, when the when the
water in the lake rises, all the boats go up.
So I think it's fantastic. So we're all helping each
other out by spreading the word and sharing the knowledge.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yes, yes, ask your friend whether he's had a PSA done.
That's what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I've got to ask him tonight.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So if you need help, if you want somebody to
come into a presentation to your men's group, they can
reach out to you as well.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Absolutely, and we're more than happy to speak to anyone
anytime about this and any other health issue affecting our community.
We're available to you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Oh yeah, and I know you do the different initiatives
throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
This is the because of the November month, you know,
men's health focus. Yes, we don't want to get the
word out about that. Absolutely, So if you need more information,
reach out to me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot
com and I'm happy to for the details onto you
and don't forget you always download the shows a podcast
on our iHeartRadio app. Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend.
(31:41):
I'm dev Nev and this has been my perspective. Remember
life is good, so be your healthieste and let's get
out there and live it until next week.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week from Palm Beach, Treasure Coast perspective
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