Prostate cancer
Overview
What is prostate cancer
Prostate cancer starts with uncontrolled cell growth in the cells that make up the prostate gland. As such, most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas and can also include Sarcomas, Small cell carcinomas, Neuroendocrine tumors, and Transitional cell carcinomas. Prostate cancer is typically a slow growing cancer and can be detected early, allowing for early diagnosis and either surveillance or treatment. Treatment options may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted drug therapy.
How common is prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the third most common type of cancer and only affects men. It is estimated that there are 161,360 new cases of prostate cancer per year in the United States.1 Prostate cancer is diagnosed most frequently between the age groups of 65-74. Risk factors for developing prostate cancer include: family history of prostate or breast cancer, older age, and obesity.
Questions regarding your prostate cancer therapy
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1. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html as of 7/10/17
Symptoms
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer may not cause symptoms early on. Symptoms that do occur may be one or more of the following, although many of these symptoms may be caused by something other than prostate cancer:
- Trouble urinating
- Weak urinary stream
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Erectile dysfunction
- Bone pain in the hips, back or chest
How is it diagnosed
Current guidelines suggest that patients should talk to their doctor about their risk of prostate cancer and the risks and uncertainties associated with screening tests. Prostate cancer can be detected by doing a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or by digital rectal exam. If prostate cancer is suspected by your doctor based on screening test results, a biopsy will be performed to confirm the diagnosis.
Medications
Prostate cancer
Accredo, a specialty pharmacy for prostate cancer, dispenses specialty and non-specialty prostate cancer medications including (but not limited to):/p>
| Drug | Generic/Biosimilar | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Aveed® (testosterone undecanoate) | Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. | |
| Eligard® (leuprolide) | Tolmar Pharmaceuticals | |
| Erleada™ (apalutamide) | Janssen | |
| Firmagon® (degarelix) | Ferring Pharmaceuticals | |
| Jevtana® (cabazitaxel) | Sanofi | |
| Lupron Depot® (leuprolide acetate for depot suspension) | Abbvie | Mvasi™ (bevacizumab-awwb) | Biosimilar | Amgen |
| Nubeqa® (darolutamide) | Bayer | |
| Rubraca® (rucaparib) | Clovis Oncology | |
| Vantas® (histrelin) | Endo | |
| Xtandi® (enzalutamide) | Astellas | |
| Yonsa® (abiraterone acetate) | Sun Pharma | |
| Zoladex® (goserelin acetate) | AstraZeneca | |
| Zytiga® (abiraterone acetate) | Janssen | |
Accredo also dispenses traditional chemotherapy medications as well as supportive care medications ordered by your prescriber that are not listed above.
Financing Your Care
Financial assistance coordination may be available to help with your medication costs, including manufacturer and community programs. Accredo representatives are available to help find a program that may work for you.
Financial Guidance
Life-saving specialty medication can be expensive. Learn how the Accredo teams help individuals find ways to afford the medication they need to survive in this video.
Find Support
There are many organizations that support research and advocacy for prostate cancer. See below for a few of those organizations.
Prostate Cancer Organizations
- Prostate Cancer Foundation
- Urology Care Foundation
- My Prostate Cancer Coach
- Prostate Conditions Education Council
Cancer Support Organizations
There are many organizations that support research and advocacy for cancer. See below for a few of those organizations.
- American Cancer Society
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Association of Cancer Online Resources
- Cancer Support Community
- Livestrong Foundation
- OncoLink
- National Foundation for Cancer Research
- Prevent Cancer Foundation
- Conquer Cancer Foundation
- Inspire.com
- CancerCare
- Cancer GRACE
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network
- Patient Advocate Foundation
Government Organizations
Meet the Team
Accredo’s oncology care team is dedicated to serving you and we understand the complexity of your condition. Our specialty-trained clinicians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer any questions.
Why We Do It
Accredo supports patients with chronic and complex conditions and helps them live their best life. Watch our video to learn why we do what we do for our patients.