What Are the Facts?
Breast and prostate cancer are the leading causes of cancer in women and men, respectively. They share many characteristics including:
both have substantial permanent cure rates in excess of 50%
both have vital screening tests that can detect early disease resulting in cure rates over 90 %
when diagnosed, both have multiple treatment options requiring expert opinion from multiple types of cancer experts for selection of the best treatment with the best likelihood
Benefits of UAB Interdisciplinary Care for Breast and Prostate Cancer
At the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, special interdisciplinary clinics provide patients with newly diagnosed breast or prostate cancer, an opportunity to have, in a single visit, a complete evaluation of their particular cancer problem by a team of three cancer specialists - a surgeon, a radiation therapist and a medical oncologist. Together with the patient, they discuss the extent of disease, review all options, answer all questions, and provide a best treatment recommendation.
This service exceeds the benefits of the traditional single expert opinion or "second" opinion in that it provides an integrated recommendation from three experts during one visit. The UAB Cancer Center, a component of the UAB Health System, is the only site in our region to provide such a comprehensive and quality service.
Best Therapy May Not Be Traditional Therapy
The treatment of breast and prostate cancer has undergone a revolution over the past decade led by UAB and other major cancer centers across the United States. Many patients with breast and prostate cancer can be treated successfully without the need to surgically remove the breast or prostate gland. The addition of radiation or medical therapy in initial treatment has improved cure rates for both diseases. The leaders in cancer therapy research are the best source of information to help you, the patient, receive the latest and best treatment program.
Why the UAB Health System?
The UAB Cancer Center is the cancer program of the UAB Health System that has been evaluated and designated as the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in the deep South by the National Cancer Institute. As a member of the UAB Health System, the Cancer Center has the benefit of a broad array of services including a network of primary care physicians who can provide the best of cancer screening procedures for women and men in their own neighborhoods. Detection of breast cancer with mammography or detection of prostate cancer with PSA tests and physical examinations provides the widest selection of treatment options and highest cure rates. In addition, the UAB Health System has a full range of radiology, pathology and plastic surgery expertise to support the interdisciplinary care of breast and prostate cancer patients.
Support the Whole Patient
What means the most to the women who visit the Interdisciplinary Breast Clinic is the amount of support available through experienced consultation and care. A network of physical therapists, professional counselors, social workers, and breast cancer survivors is available to women with breast cancer and their families. Each patient receives an opportunity to share her concerns and questions with a group experienced in dealing with breast cancer, while receiving a level of support that helps relieve the apprehension and fear often associated with the disease.
What Are You Waiting For?
If you are interested in information and/or breast/prostate cancer screening, call us for an appointment at the convenient Kirklin Clinic or at a UAB Health Center near you.
If you or a loved one have been recently been diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer, call TODAY to schedule an appointment at our Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Clinic or our Interdisciplinary Prostate Cancer Clinic. With one call, you can benefit from the most up-to-date treatment options and the world class doctors at the UAB Health System.
Call Cancer Answers today at (205) 975-8222 or toll-free at 1-800-UAB-0933, and let the UAB Health System help you cope with cancer.