Lancaster Physician Fall 2021 - 11

FALL 2021
" This is going to be a mainstay option in
the treatment of prostate cancer, " said Dr.
Edward Steiner, a WellSpan interventional
radiologist who performs the procedure. " Surgery,
radiation and TULSA-PRO - those are
going to be the big three. Everything out there
confirms that is the direction we are heading
in. There are very few procedures where you
can prove your effectiveness. At the end of
this procedure, we can confirm that the entire
gland is now completely ablated or without
any blood supply.
" I'm tremendously excited. I think this is
one of the most significant innovations in the
care for prostate cancer in the last 30 years. "
WHO CAN RECEIVE TULSA-PRO
TREATMENT?
The procedure is approved for use in men
with prostate cancer of a certain size and that
has not spread beyond the prostate. WellSpan
York Hospital is just one of 10 sites in the
country where the procedure is currently
performed, with Dr. Steiner joining peers at
Stanford and Yale, among others. He is assisted
in performing the procedure by certified registered
nurse practitioner Gena Paul, whom
he calls " my right hand. "
Patients from across the region, including
Lancaster County, may undergo the treatment
at the hospital, which is just a short drive away
and is the closest place to receive this groundbreaking
procedure. They may be referred by
their primary care physician or urologist, or
even reach out directly to Dr. Steiner for a
consultation, who will refer them back to their
physician for any follow-up care.
One of the major advantages of TULSA-PRO
is that it has fewer side effects and
complications than other prostate cancer
treatments such as surgery or radiation.
This includes erectile dysfunction (with
TULSA-PRO, this side effect is much less
common, is often temporary, and can be solved
with medication) and incontinence (just 2.6
percent of TULSA-PRO patients experience
it). After an overnight stay, patients go home
with a catheter for two weeks but can return
to work in several days.
Prostate cancer ultimately is
the number two cancer killer of
men, following lung cancer.
TULSA-PRO is covered by Medicare and
many third-party insurers.
WHY IS TULSA-PRO SIGNIFICANT?
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer
in American men, except for skin cancers,
according to the American Cancer Society.
The chance of getting prostate cancer increases
as a man gets older. Most prostate cancers are
found in men over the age of 65. Black men
are more likely to develop prostate cancer than
men of other races.
Prostate cancer ultimately is the number two
cancer killer of men, following lung cancer.
TULSA-PRO is one of the few procedures
that can treat recurrent prostate cancers for
which surgery and radiation may not be
possible. These " salvage " procedures can
be lifesaving.
HOW DID TULSA-PRO
BECOME POSSIBLE?
Medicine requires a continuum of cutting-edge
innovations and services to be able
to offer aggressive, ground-breaking procedures
such as TULSA-PRO. For prostate cancer, the
continuum includes advanced imaging, something
Dr. Steiner calls " man-o-grams " for men.
The WellSpan Health team also introduced
MRIs paired with ultrasound, a " fusion biopsy "
method that leads to a very precise, three-dimensional
view of the prostate, followed by
a targeted biopsy. Patients can benefit from
this because WellSpan has the latest and most
advanced magnets in its MRI suites, the artificial
intelligence that is required for the fusion
method, and the trained teams to perform the
tests. And the tests are fast. A man can undergo
a scan in 25 minutes and a follow-up biopsy
in just about 45 minutes.
" We can see better, and find the cancer, and
then accurately and precisely biopsy the lesions
under anesthesia, " Dr. Steiner said.
LANCASTER 11 PHYSICIAN
THE IMPACT OF TULSA-PRO
ON MEN'S LIVES
John Morgan is a partner in an investment
company. He and his wife, who have
four grown sons, two dogs and a flock of
chickens, love to travel. Morgan, who was a
professional ski racer in his 20s, lifts weights,
rides a bike, and skis.
In late 2018, the 66-year-old Maryland man
was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
He was determined to find a treatment that
allowed him to continue to live a full, busy
life. He had heard about TULSA-PRO and
discovered it was available less than two hours
away from his home.
AVOIDING PROSTATE CANCER
TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS WAS
ONE OF MORGAN'S GOALS.
" When my urologist said I had two options,
surgery or radiation, I said what's behind door
number three? " Morgan said. " I didn't want
the collateral damage that comes from either of
those options. One possible outcome involved
wearing a diaper for the rest of my life. I really
didn't want to live with that, so I asked what
else can we do? "
About two weeks after the procedure,
Morgan attended his youngest son's college
graduation. After a month, he was back riding
his bike and lifting weights. Next year, he's
signed up to compete in the world's longest
amateur downhill ski race, The Inferno, a
9.25-mile contest held in Switzerland.
" I think TULSA-PRO is a game changer.
Having prostate cancer is not a death sentence
and it's not the death sentence of life as you
know it, " Morgan said. " If you qualify for this,
you can deal with it. "
Lancaster Physician Fall 2021

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