Patient Resource Archives

The month of Valentine’s Day, February is also American Heart Month – both highlighting matters of the heart.

And while Heart Month might arrive with fewer candies and flowers than Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t lack for importance when it comes to overall health.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of men and women in the U.S., causing nearly 700,000 deaths each year. More positively, there are ways to reduce your risk, and your family’s. Eighty percent or more of heart disease cases could be avoided with healthy lifestyle changes and preventive health care. And most steps may already be familiar, including making healthy food choices and being more physically active.

On top of these heart-health benefits, such steps also have the added bonus of lowering the risk of cancer, which is a close second to heart disease in overall impact.

Fifty percent of all cancers could be prevented with healthy behaviors. And 50% or more of breast cancers — and up to 75% of colon cancers — could be avoided.

Make Your Heart Health a Priority

Steps that can lower the risk of both heart disease and cancer include:

Being tobacco-free – or getting tobacco-free. Visit smokefree.gov for help.
Keeping weight in check.
Being physically active. Any amount of activity is better than none.
Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in red and processed meat.
Limiting alcohol. Not drinking is best.
Getting screening tests for certain cancers and heart disease risk factors. Talk with a doctor about which apply to you.

Put Your Plan into Action

As important as these healthy behaviors are, it can still take some effort to put them in place, and making a plan can improve our chances of making it happen.

“Choosing a behavior that can be integrated into everyday life is key,” said Erika Waters, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who specializes in behavior change research.

“Then, make a small goal for change.”

This approach helps set the stage for success that we can then build on. Being detailed about a goal helps even more.

How to Craft Your Specific Health Goals

“Specify what, when, where and for how long,” added Waters.

One common goal for many of us is to get more physical activity, and Waters outlined an example of using this approach to help do that. Here are some questions we might ask ourselves, and some potential answers:

What will I do? Take a walk.
When will I do it? Right when I get home from work.
Where will I do it? Down to the corner and back.
How long will I do it? For just 10 minutes.

It may feel unfamiliar to have such a specific plan for something like a short walk. But having a realistic goal and plan for reaching that goal can really help us be successful in making healthy changes and maintaining them over time. Every positive change we make, however big or small, can have benefits — and can build on each other.

American Heart Month, and the healthy behaviors it focuses on, is a great way to think about steps we can take to lower our risk of heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.

“Changing behavior isn’t always easy,” Waters concluded. “But having better health and well-being will make it worthwhile!”

It’s your health. Take control.

For more ways to improve overall health, visit the 8ightWays website.

For Your Health – Five Stress-Free Health Tips for 2024

Is a Nerve-Sparing Prostatectomy the Best Surgery for My Prostate Cancer?

No one ever wants to hear that they have cancer. The word brings many fears and questions to mind. Yet, when a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are many treatment options available to him, treatments that expand beyond prostatectomy, a surgery performed on the prostate.

Is prostate cancer common?

Each year more than 280,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer according to the American Cancer Society. A conservative estimate is that one in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in his lifetime. To catch prostate cancer in early stages men who are approaching age 50 are encouraged to discuss their prostate cancer risks including family history with their doctor. Many men begin to get screened starting at age 50 or older, and men who are at increased risk, like African American men or men who have family history of prostate cancer may seek out screening at even younger ages, sometimes starting around age 40 or 45. The majority of prostate cancer patients are age 65 or older when they are first diagnosed.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

In its early stages, there are no symptoms of prostate cancer. As the disease progresses, men can experience a wide range of symptoms, including urinary symptoms or hip/back pain. Men may rationalize these as a natural part of aging and fail to mention them to health care providers. Symptoms associated with both prostate cancer and a natural enlarging of the prostate gland include:

Difficulty empty their bladder, including a hard time starting to urinate and maintaining a steady stream of urine
Increased frequency urinating, especially at night

Symptoms that suggest a more concerning process may include:

Pain and burning when urinating
Pain when ejaculating
Seeing blood in urine
Seeing blood in semen and
Pain in the lower back, hips, and lower abdomen that is constant

While these symptoms may feel uncomfortable to mention to your doctor, they are important to report. They may indicate prostate cancer, may indicate an enlargement of the prostate, or may be an issue with another organ. Likely your provider will refer you to getting screened or will conduct a screening themselves.

How can I get screened for prostate cancer?

The first step in a screening for prostate cancer is very straightforward. It is a simple blood test called a prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA test for short. Because it is a blood test, it will involve a needle prick but doesn’t require fasting for an accurate reading. Your blood can have low, normal, or elevated PSA levels. An elevated PSA level in the blood means there are higher levels of a protein the prostate makes in the body. This elevated PSA can happen for a few different reasons, so a few other tests may be required to see if this higher PSA level could be because of prostate cancer. If the PSA is higher, your doctor may want to order an ultrasound or do an exam that they can conduct during an office visit. The purpose of the digital (gloved hand) rectal exam is to assess the size of the prostate and feel for any abnormal nodules or bumps that may indicate prostate cancer. Read more about prostate cancer screenings on GetScreenedNow.com.

How could prostate cancer impact me every day?

Aside from the initial concern of hearing a cancer diagnosis, many men don’t just worry about surviving, they also have quality of life questions for during and after treatment. It’s very common to wonder, “how will I pee after a prostatectomy?” or “can I still get an erection if the prostate is removed?” These are very understandable questions about how the diagnosis and treatment will impact day-to-day activities. Advances in prostate cancer detection, treatment, and post-treatment survivorship have greatly improved patient outcomes over the past few decades. Many men are treated for prostate cancer and subsequently live cancer-free with a full quality of life. When diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is important for men to speak with a urologist to discuss treatment options and the personalized impact these treatments may have.

What are some prostate cancer treatment options?

Today there are many prostate cancer treatment options to consider after a diagnosis. Surgery is not a given, in fact some approaches involve purposefully waiting to see how the cancer develops. Different treatments can also be combined for a unique-to-you plan. The standard options for prostate cancer treatment at Siteman include:

Active surveillance and watchful waiting
Focal therapy
Surgery (includes nerve-sparing prostatectomy and other surgical approaches)
Radiation therapy
Systemic therapy

Will a nerve-sparing prostatectomy protect my sex life?

Unlike the past, where a prostate cancer diagnosis and surgery removing the prostate meant impotence, today, physicians specialize in nerve-sparing prostatectomy approaches. There are multiple approaches that surgeons can take that try to protect the nerve bundles located on both sides of the prostate. While those approaches vary from surgeon to surgeon, they are each considered to be a nerve-sparing prostatectomy. Any surgery on the prostate does open up the possibility for nerves to be damaged during the surgery itself or while healing. But when planning the surgical approach, the cancer’s location, and other factors, and the patient’s desire for maintained sexual health and function are all considerations.

Self-advocacy in cancer care is important and welcome. Often patients request a nerve-sparing prostatectomy from their physician following a prostate cancer diagnosis. This is an excellent preference to voice to your physician, but a nerve-sparing prostatectomy may not even be necessary when looking at the medical history and factors about the cancer itself. Experts at Siteman Cancer Center will be able to make a well-informed recommendation on what kind of care is needed. A nerve-sparing prostatectomy is a kind of surgery and because of medical advances, sometimes, surgery for prostate cancer is not needed at all. For instance, radiation or a systemic therapy could be options that lead to a cancer-free future without undergoing surgery.

Can a nerve-sparing prostatectomy impact my fertility?

Nerve-sparing prostatectomy or any other kind of surgery on the prostate can potentially impact male fertility since the gland plays an important role in the production of semen. Because prostate cancer is more prevalent in men who are older than 60, it may not impact your life goals. But for some men, family planning and fertility are important considerations when creating a treatment plan. There are several options and resources to consider. If your care is taking place at Siteman Cancer Center, you can request a referral to the Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center at WashU. Even if you aren’t getting care at Siteman, you can become a new patient at the Center to explore your options.

How is prostate cancer care advancing?

At Siteman Cancer Center experts are driving the standard of care forward through multidisciplinary care. Depending on the case, patients may receive a combination of different interventions like radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Or newer interventions like focal therapy and proton beam therapy or systemic therapies like hormone therapy and immunotherapy may be what your oncologist feels are best. Taking a team approach with combined expertise and specialties open up many possible plans based on every patient’s specific cancer and life circumstance. Clinical trials for prostate cancer are also ongoing at Siteman. These trials are shaping the next phase of research-based cancer care.

You can ask your doctor about these advances, or request an appointment at Siteman for a consultation. Getting a second opinion about your care is always an option available to you at any stage of your journey.

For Your Health – A simple, healthy boost to winter comfort foods

For Your Health: Warming up to cold-weather activities

Maybe it’ll be this week. Maybe next, or the week after. But before long, the weather’s going to make its shift to the consistently colder days of fall and winter.

While that change certainly brings a lot to look forward to on the calendar, it can also bring extra challenges when it comes to keeping up with our physical activity.

The result, not surprisingly, is that many of us are less active during the chillier months.

“There is a seasonality to physical activity levels,” said Elizabeth Salerno, a behavioral scientist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who specializes in physical activity research. “So, if you feel your activity routine slipping as the weather turns, you’re not alone. And there are ways to maintain movement despite the cold.”

Keeping up our routines, or maybe even building on them, is one of the best things we can do for our health and overall well-being. Activity, even modest amounts, helps lower the risk of conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Exercise also can improve our mobility, quality of life and mental health – something that can be particularly important during gray winter months.

So, what can we do to stay active and ensure that we keep getting these benefits? A mix of strategies can be effective. This can include bigger approaches – like getting a gym membership or buying home exercise gear – and smaller tricks – like walking indoors at shopping malls or shifting exercise times to when it’s daytime and a bit warmer.

“I think it’s important to have an ‘activity menu,’ or a list of exercise options that are suited for different moods, seasons, life phases and the like,” Salerno said. “Whenever you find an activity you enjoy, add it to the menu. This allows us to be flexible and stay active even when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.”

Making exercise and activity plans with other people is a great way to build social support and increase the chances that we’ll regularly choose something off our activity menu.

“Having a workout buddy helps provide accountability, enjoyment and encouragement – all of which are important year-round, but especially so when it is cold and dark outside,” Salerno continued.

She offers these tips to help us stay safe and comfortable when our activities take us outside during fall and winter:

Stay hydrated. This should always be a priority, even in colder weather.
Wear layers. Lightweight, moisture-wicking layers should be closest to the skin. Outer layers should be insulated and weather-repellent. And don’t forget warm gloves, socks and a hat.
Choose appropriate footwear. Be sure it has good traction for wintry conditions.
Plan for the weather. Check the forecast so you’re prepared or can change plans and move inside if necessary.
Meet up with a workout buddy. On top of making activities more enjoyable, having a partner helps add some peace of mind when working out in colder weather.

As with other routines we work into our days, we eventually find what works best when it comes to activity and exercise. “Know yourself,” Salerno said. “Find the activities that bring you joy, and you won’t stop at a little cold weather to fit them in.”

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Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the free prevention tool YourDiseaseRisk.com®.

For Your Health: Score big with a healthier approach to game day snacks

This time of year, many sports are calling for our attention. From college and pro football to postseason baseball and school soccer, it’s likely a lot of us will spend hours watching a game or match – whether in person or on TV.

And almost as important as watching the game is having snacks on hand while doing so, whether we’re cheering our kids from the sideline or hosting friends to watch the big weekend matchup.

Unfortunately, many traditional game day snacks aren’t the healthiest choices. Foods such as chips and dip, nachos, chili, pizza and sweets may be filled with flavor but are far from ideal when it comes to nutrition. Often, they’re high in calories, sugar, salt, red and processed meat and unhealthy fats.

But, of course, snacks and snacking by themselves aren’t unhealthy. In fact, they can absolutely be part of healthy eating, said Lauren Gallen, a registered dietitian at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. And if we’re going for a long time between meals – as we might during a game or match – snacking can give us energy and keep us from feeling so hungry that, when we finally sit down for a full meal, we eat too fast and overdo it.

“Balanced snacks are usually more satisfying, so a good blueprint to follow is to choose options with two components,” Gallen said. “Include something with carbs – crackers, rice cakes, fruit, chips, pretzels – and something with protein and/or fat – hummus, cheese, peanut butter.”

When it comes to more traditional game day snacks, some simple changes can really help improve the way we eat without really sacrificing much, if any, taste and our overall enjoyment.

Instead of replacing foods with “healthified” versions, try choosing smaller portions and boost those by adding some healthier choices to your plate, such as fruit, vegetables, pretzels and grilled chicken.

“Starting with smaller amounts of our favorites allows us to assess whether we feel satisfied and comfortable after that portion or if we are still hungry for additional food,” Gallen said.

This approach to improving our game day snacking can be an easy way to improve the health of our overall eating too. We don’t need to give up foods we really enjoy, even if they aren’t very nutritious.

Instead, maybe we eat those dishes less often, or we choose smaller portions, adding in whole grains and vegetables as a healthier side dish. Or instead of regularly having a beer or glass of wine, we choose an alcohol-free version or bottle of fizzy water more often.

Whether it’s a game day snack or our weekly menu, these small updates to how we eat can lead to big scores for our health. Game on.

It’s your health. Take control.

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