Hagen F. Kennecke, MD, MHA, FRCP

Hagen F. Kennecke, MD, MHA, FRCP, medical oncologist, medical director of the Virginia Mason Cancer Institute and current chair of the NCI Rectal-Anal Cancer Task Force, discusses the treatment and screening decision making process for patients with prostate cancer.

There are many treatment options in prostate cancer, says Kennecke, but he would also like to highlight decision aids. These can involve the patient and are offered online by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Mayo Clinic, and other major cancer organizations. The decision aids help initiate discussion about not only screening, but Kennecke says 1 of the things that happens is many prostate cancers that are diagnosed are very early stage and may not necessarily require any initial treatment.

Screening and treatment discussions are not as clear with prostate cancer as with others. Treatment is typically required for patients with established high-risk criteria, and the options include surgery or radiation, or both depending on if the tumor is high risk and meets certain criteria.

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Hagen F. Kennecke, MD, MHA, FRCP | Authors

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Making Treatment and Screening Decisions for Patients With Prostate Cancer