Prostate Cancer Treatment Flow Chart

Curing Prostate Cancer: An Outline of the Process of Surgical Management of the Malignancy

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men, with approximately 250,000 new cases diagnosed a year in the US, resulting in nearly 35,000. These statistics, incidentally, are nearly identical to those for breast cancer, yet this disease in men receives a fraction of public attention and funding. Even though this cancer affects a quarter million men every year, far more men will die “with” prostate cancer (per autopsy studies) than “from” prostate cancer. The process of prostate cancer screening and treatment methods should be optimized.

Treatment options such as radiation therapy, holistic methods, cryotherapy (freezing of the prostate gland) reside outside of the scope of this analysis. The process outlined begins when the patient is referred to the urologist. At the time of referral the patient (customer) may be known to have prostate cancer, may have suspicious findings consistent with prostate cancer, or may be presenting for routine evaluation. The process never truly ends until the patient’s demise, from whatever cause, but for all practical purposes, the process is complete upon referral to a specialist utilizing alternative methods to surgery such as radiation therapy or the patient does not meet the criteria to screen for prostate cancer due to factors such as advanced age or complicating co-morbidities.

Stakeholders include the patient, family, business partners and contacts, insurance companies and the government (taxes). In addition to the “health care providers”, pharmaceutical and equipment manufacturers, because of legal concerns, have a stake in a patient’s outcome.

The current process proceeds as such:

* The process begins when

* The patient decides to initiate the visit with the urologist

* The patient’s primary care physician refers the patient to the urologist

* Patient arrives at the urologists office...