Active surveillance is a watch and wait approach for men who have low-risk prostate cancer, meaning you have a small number of cancer cells found in the biopsy, a low PSA, and a low-grade cancer.
With low-risk prostate cancer, your risk of cancer getting out of the prostate and spreading to other parts of the body is “really, really low,” explains Dr. Stephen Freedland, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, “so anything we do is going to be overtreatment.” If you do opt for active surveillance, you’ll regularly need a PSA test, rectal exam, and high-quality imaging tests, which can identify minuscule yet important changes.
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Active surveillance is a watch and wait approach for men who have low-risk prostate cancer, meaning you have a small number of cancer cells found in the biopsy, a low PSA, and a low-grade cancer.
With low-risk prostate cancer, your risk of cancer getting out of the prostate and spreading to other parts of the body is “really, really low,” explains Dr. Stephen Freedland, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, “so anything we do is going to be overtreatment.” If you do opt for active surveillance, you’ll regularly need a PSA test, rectal exam, and high-quality imaging tests, which can identify minuscule yet important changes.
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