Prostate Cancer Care at Levine Cancer

If you or someone you love has prostate cancer, you deserve the best possible care. Atrium Health Levine Cancer is home to some of the nation’s top prostate cancer specialists. Our experts use the latest techniques and technologies to diagnose and treat prostate cancer, giving you the best chance of a happier, healthier tomorrow. And with more than 25 locations across the Carolinas, we bring world-class cancer care closer to you.

Why choose Levine Cancer for prostate cancer care?

• Prostate cancer specialists. Our prostate cancer patients are cared for by fellowship-trained urologic oncologists. These doctors received years of extra training in treating diseases like prostate cancer. While some urologists treat many different conditions, our team is solely dedicated to helping cancer patients like you.
• A team approach. At Levine Cancer, you’ll have a comprehensive team by your side. This group of experts includes prostate cancer surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, geneticists and more. They’ll meet regularly to discuss your condition and work together to create a custom treatment plan just for you.
• Proven experience. We help hundreds of prostate cancer patients every year. We have some of the region’s highest volumes for both local and metastatic prostate cancers. We also treat rare prostate cancers like small cell prostate cancer and sarcomas in the prostate. Our deep experience allows us to choose the most effective therapies for your specific condition.

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer happens when cancer cells grow within the prostate gland surrounding the male urethra – which can impair urination and reproduction.

Where is the prostate gland located?

The prostate gland is positioned just below the bladder, in front of the rectum and surrounding the urethra. The urethra empties urine from the bladder. When tumors develop on the prostate gland, they reduce how freely urine passes through, making trips to the bathroom more frequent.

What causes prostate cancer?

Though the exact prostate cancer causes have not been proven, certain risk factors make contracting this illness more likely.

Risk factors for prostate cancer include:

• Age, men 65 or older are more likely to have prostate cancer
• Excessive body mass or being obese
• Diets high in animal fat
• Family history of prostate cancer
• Prostate cancer cases in the immediate family
• Race and ethnicity, particularly African American men

What are common prostate cancer symptoms?

Early signs of prostate cancer may be hard to notice, so scheduling routine exams is important. Prostate cancer symptoms are more pronounced as prostate cancer stages advance.

Typical prostate cancer symptoms include:

• Blood in urine or semen
• Difficulty or discomfort urinating or ejaculating
• Frequent pain in the upper thigh, hips or lower back
• Needing to urinate frequently, particularly when it disrupts sleep

How is prostate cancer diagnosed?

When you are experiencing prostate cancer symptoms, doctors often use a test to check for elevated levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSAs), an indicator of prostate cancer, in your blood.

Doctors might also perform a digital rectal exam (DRE) where they feel the prostate to see if it is swollen or an irregular shape.

If these tests show anything abnormal, additional tests may include:

• Transrectal ultrasound, where doctors use a small probe to bounce sound waves off the prostate to create an image. Then they examine this image for signs of prostate cancer like an abnormal shape or size.
• Biopsy, where doctors take a small sample of tissue from the prostate and look for cancer cells under a microscope.
• MRI ultrasound fusion and MRI fusion biopsy, where doctors use an ultrasound to examine prostate tumors. Traditionally, doctors take photos of tumors through an MRI and then take samples of the tumor based on where the tumor is in the picture. With fusion technology, doctors can instead see tumors and take samples in real-time. This allows them to target cancer more accurately and often take fewer tissue samples. Levine Cancer is one of only a handful of facilities in our region with this technology.

Genetic counseling for prostate cancer

While doctors don’t know exactly what causes prostate cancer, certain factors are linked to increased risk. About 5 to 10% of prostate cancers are hereditary, meaning genes that run in your family can lead to cancer.

Genetic counseling can help you find out if your genes raise your risk of prostate cancer and make informed decisions about your health. If you have prostate cancer, genetic tests may change or influence your treatment plan.

Learn more about Levine Cancer's Cancer Genetics program.

Your prostate cancer treatment options

Our experts will help you understand your prostate cancer treatment options and create a plan that gives you the best chance of a good outcome. We also take steps to preserve sexual and urinary function. Your prostate cancer treatment options may include:

• Active surveillance: If you have low-risk, slow-growing prostate cancer, your doctor may suggest waiting to start aggressive treatments. Instead, they’ll start a care plan called “active surveillance,” where you'll have regular checkups so we can closely monitor your tumor’s growth. Then, if anything changes, your doctor will talk to you about your treatment options.
• Chemotherapy: This treatment, often called chemo, uses powerful medications to shrink or kill cancer cells.
• Hormone therapy: Testosterone speeds up prostate cancer’s growth, so reducing testosterone can slow the disease. Hormone therapy lowers the amount of testosterone or stops the body from making it.
• Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy uses doses of energy to kill cancer cells. We offer a few types of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, including proton beam therapy, brachytherapy, external beam radiation, systemic radiation therapy and radiopharmaceutical therapy.
  • Proton beam therapy: This treatment uses a special machine to send high-energy proton beams directly to the tumor. The beam stops at the tumor, helping protect nearby healthy tissue and reducing side effects.
  • Brachytherapy: Doctors implant tiny, radioactive seeds in the prostate. These seeds are strategically placed to target tumors and prevent exposing healthy tissues to radiation. This is an outpatient procedure. and most patients go home the same day of treatment.
  • External beam radiation: Doctors use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells or prevent them from growing.
  • Systemic radiation therapy: During this treatment, a radioactive drug (or radiopharmaceutical) is given through an IV. The medication travels through the body to target cancer cells.
  • Radiopharmaceutical therapy: This treatment is a promising option for certain types of metastatic cancer.
• Robotic prostatectomy: Some patients need a prostatectomy, a minimally invasive procedure to remove the prostate. Our surgeons use robot-assisted techniques for nearly all prostatectomies, which are less invasive and more precise than traditional prostate surgery. Robotic prostate surgery usually allows for a shorter hospital stay, faster return to normal activities and a better chance of preserving urinary and sexual function.