CentraState - Healthy Directions

B ased on his age and family history, 78-year-old Robert C. Blum was particularly vigilant about his prostate health. "My father passed away from prostate cancer in his mid-to-late 70s, so I've been getting annual screenings for years," says the Jackson resident and former presiding judge for the municipal courts of Monmouth County. When Robert's level of PSA, or prostate-specific antigen (a protein in the body that can become elevated in the presence of prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate), steadily rose from a measure of 2 to 6 over the past couple of years, both Robert and his CentraState team knew it was time to take action. Robert's primary care physician, Robert Pedowitz, DO, board-certified family medicine physician and on staff at CentraState, referred Robert to a urologist, who subsequently biopsied his prostate and confirmed the presence of cancer. A PREVENTABLE DISEASE According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 221,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United States annually, and more than 27,000 men will die from the condition. "Outside of skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, and while it's often genetic and can have serious complications, it's largely a preventable disease that can be addressed with multiple treatment options," confirms Dr. Pedowitz, Medical Director for Family Practice of CentraState. "Because the earlier it's detected, the better the patient's outcome will be, it's great to begin screening early," he adds. "If I find an Team Effort Robert Blum is beating his prostate cancer after successful treatment at CentraState. Robert Pedowitz, DO, board-certified physician EARLY INTERVENTION BY CENTRASTATE'S TEAM OF FAMILY PRACTITIONERS AND ONCOLOGY SPECIALISTS HELPS IDENTIFY AND SUCCESSFULLY TREAT JACKSON MAN'S PROSTATE CANCER T e a m E f f o r t Spring 2016 Healthy Directions 6

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