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Al Roker Prostate Cancer Symptoms

Surgery Not The Only Option

Al Roker Shares Prostate Cancer Diagnosis And Encourages Early Screening | NBC Nightly News

According to Norouzi, many cancer centers use a set of guidelines called the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines.

Those guidelines list two types of treatments: One is surgical removal of the prostate, and the other is a form of radiation therapy.

Now there are many forms of radiation therapy, but there are also other forms of treatment that arent listed on those guidelines, Norouzi said.

Like cryosurgery or freezing of the prostate and HIFU, which is an acronym for high-intensity focused ultrasound, and that is a minimally invasive treatment thats used to treat prostate cancer but has not yet been approved for prostate cancer, he said.

Norouzi explained there are reasons why someone might choose one or the other, but that the cure rates are fairly equivalent to radiation therapy and surgical removal of the prostate.

However, each treatment has their own set of unique risks.

Norouzi said for prostate cancer treatment, these include problems holding urine and the inability to maintain an erection.

On the other hand, radiation treatments tend to cause problems, such as diarrhea that doesnt go away, bowel obstruction, and sometimes some bleeding from the intestines and urinary tract.

Radiation therapy also presents another, far more serious long-term risk.

Radiation can have a long-term side effect of causing other types of cancer, like intestinal cancer, and bladder cancers, Norouzi said.

Roker Is At Higher Risk Due To Age And Race

African American men tend to get cancer at an earlier age, have more aggressive prostate cancer at an earlier age, said Dr. Brian Norouzi, a urologist with St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California. That, however, shouldnt bring any extra challenges to the treatment, but not knowing the specifics of Mr. Rokers cancer, could lead to potentially lower cure rate.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation , African American men have a greater risk for developing prostate cancer and aggressive disease. More research is needed, but the PCF says this is possibly due to socioeconomic or genetic factors.

The PCF recommends African American men begin to speak with healthcare providers about the risk by 40 years of age.

Swelling In Your Extremities

Swelling in your extremities, or lymphedema, can be a sign of later-stage prostate cancer, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology . This can be the result of both the cancer itself or its treatment. In some cases, lymph node blockages due to cancer reduce the lymphatic system’s efficacy, causing swelling. Additionally, cancer treatments including radiation and surgery can damage the lymph nodes, leading to a buildup of fluid.

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms

According to Roker, his cancer was detected during a routine physical. Unfortunately, this is all too common. “It is rare for patients to present with symptoms attributed to prostate cancer,” Darren Mareiniss, MD, FACEP, Emergency Medicine Physician at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, explains to Eat This, Not That! Health. “Most are diagnosed at a local stage and asymptotic.”

However, there are symptoms to look out for. “Different people have different symptoms for prostate cancer. Some men do not have symptoms at all,” reveals theCDC. Here are the most common symptoms:

  • Difficulty starting urination.
  • Weak or interrupted flow of urine.
  • Frequent urination, especially at night.
  • Difficulty emptying the bladder completely.
  • Pain or burning during urination.
  • Pain in the back, hips, or pelvis that doesn’t go away.

Dr. Mareiniss notes that hematuria , could be an earlier sign, while “advanced disease can present with urinary retention, incontinence, weakness, weight loss, erectile dysfunction and bone pain.”

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Al Roker Gives Kelly Clarkson Update On Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Al Roker

Al Roker shared a positive update about his prostate cancer diagnosis during his Monday appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

“I really feel good. I was very fortunate. We caught it early. It was an aggressive form of prostate cancer, but we caught it very early,” revealed the TODAY weatherman and co-host, 66.

“I had a great surgeon from Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dr. Vincent Laudone. He feels we got it all,” Al said of the five-hour surgery he underwent on Nov. 9 to remove his prostate along with some surrounding tissue and lymph nodes.

Al recently underwent testing to check his prostate-specific antigen levels, something he’ll continue doing every six months for the next five years. “I’m waiting for bloodwork and once my PSA level is, like, below .05 that means there’s no prostate cancer at this moment,” he shared.

Al told Clarkson he decided to go public with his diagnosis to demonstrate the importance of prostate cancer screenings.

“I went public with this because it’s a simple test, but a lot of guys, you know, we’re wimpy. We don’t like going to the doctor. And this is an easy to test to do. There’s obviously the digital exam,” said Al, who began hilariously imitating Chevy Chase singing “Moon River” during a wacky prostate cancer screening scene in the 1985 comedy “Fletch.”

Clarkson, 38, thanked Al for being transparent about his cancer journey. She also noted that Al got a COVID-19 vaccine live on TODAY to encourage others to do the same.

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Al Roker Is Warning Everyone To Do This After His Cancer Diagnosis

The iconic host has a message about making sure you stay healthy.

In Nov. 2020, Today host Al Rokerrevealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The TV icon went into surgery shortly thereafter, and took a brief leave of absence from the show to recover. Recently, Roker got candid on Today about the simple action he took that may have helped save his life. He is now urging people to take this cautionary step to be proactive about their health. Read on to find out what helped Roker catch his cancer in time.

Al Roker Revealed Hes Been Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

Longtime TV host Al Roker just revealed that he has prostate cancer. Although his cancer is aggressive, hes optimistic because it was caught early, he said on on Today.

After a routine checkup in September, it turns out I have prostate cancer, and its a good-news/bad-news kind of thing, Roker said. The good news is we caught it early. The not great news is that its a little aggressive. So Im going to be taking some time off to take care of this.

Roker is sharing his diagnosis because prostate cancer is one of those things that its a little more common than I think people realize, he said. An estimated one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society . And the risk for Black men is even higher: Theyre 50% more likely to get prostate cancer and twice as likely to pass away from prostate cancer than white men in the U.S., Carol Brown, M.D., a gynecologic cancer surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told Today.

If you detect it early, this is a really treatable disease, Roker said. I wanted to take you along on my journey so we can all learn how to educate and protect the men in our lives.

There are a few factors that make it more likely for some people to develop prostate cancer than others, such as your age and having a family history of prostate cancer. If you have a genetic risk for breast cancer , you might also have an increased risk for prostate cancer, the Mayo Clinic says.

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Further Treatment Depends On What Doctors Find Out

The need for what we would refer to as adjuvant or salvage treatment after surgery is something that we would determine based on two factors, Potters said.

One of those factors is the discovery of the cancer in the pathology report thats obtained by examining the prostate after its been removed. This will provide additional information about the stage, grade, and risk of recurrence that could need secondary treatment.

And what weve learned most recently is that in general men dont need to rush into a second or adjuvant type of treatment until theres a sort of proof that the disease is still a little bit active, Potters said.

The other factor is the results of further PSA tests after surgery.

PSA is used after surgery, whether PSA should go to zero and stay there, and if its not, then there is some disease that may warrant adjuvant treatment that could include radiation, hormone therapy, or a combination, Potters said.

What Type Of Prostate Cancer Does Al Roker Have

Al Roker Has Prostate Cancer. A Doctor Explains the Symptoms of Prostate Cancer

Dr. Louis Potters, deputy physician-in-chief at Northwell Health Cancer Institute in New York, explained that one option for men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer is active surveillance, a form of observing and seeing what happens with the disease over time.

He said about one-third of men may never need to be treated for prostate cancer.

We dont know what type Mr. Roker was diagnosed with, Potters said. But we have clues, which I believe they addressed on air.

Since Roker made a comment that his disease wasnt eligible for active surveillance, Potters is inclined to say that he has an intermediate or high-risk disease.

We do know that the incidence of disease is higher in African Americans as a whole, Potters said.

Potters explained that, while all surgeries present a level of risk, Rokers surgery is actually routine and the risk is quite small.

He is going to undergo a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, Potters said, which is a surgical procedure to remove the prostate and seminal vesicles as well as the surrounding lymph nodes. Its the complete physical removal of the prostate.

He noted the surgery usually has minimal recovery.

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How Is Prostate Cancer Treatedand What’s The Survival Rate Of The Disease

The treatment for prostate cancer depends on a number of factors, including the age of the patient, their general health, and how advanced their cancer is. Standard treatment options include watchful waiting or active surveillance, surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy, according to the National Cancer Institute

However, there’s ongoing debate about what treatment is most effective. A 2016 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine was the first to compare active surveillance, surgery, and radiation in a group of 1,643 men whose PSA tests results were a little high. Each man was randomly assigned to one of the three treatments and followed for 10 years. Among all three groups, the death rate from prostate cancer was around 1%, which suggests that the likelihood of dying from prostate cancer was the same regardless of which treatment option men chose.

On that note, the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate for localized prostate cancer, where there is no sign that the cancer has spread outside the prostate, is nearly 100%. The survival rate is the same for regional prostate cancer, where the cancer has spread outside the prostate to nearby structures or lymph nodes. For distant prostate cancer, where the cancer has spread to parts of the body farther from the prostate, such as the lungs, liver, or bones, the five-year survival rate is 31%.

Ways Al Roker Got It Right Regarding His Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

You may have heard the news that Al Roker of The Today Show was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is recovering from surgery. We received 100s of messages from fans with an outpouring of support. Get well soon, Al!

There is so much to learn from how Al Roker handled his prostate cancer diagnosis. Here are all of the ways that Al Roker got it right in regards to his prostate cancer:

  • He was screened before showing symptoms. Al Rokers cancer is an early-stage prostate cancer that is confined to the area of the prostate. This is good news and significantly increases his odds of survival. But it is important to note that his cancer was found early because he underwent a PSA screening at his routine checkup. It is important for men to talk to their doctor about getting screened for prostate cancer even if everything feels fine. PCF recommends that most men start to talk to their doctor about screening at age 45, but that drops to 40 if you have a family history of cancer or are of African descent.
  • Everybody who is diagnosed with prostate cancer has a unique journey, and we are grateful to Al Roker for being an example of courage and grace and using his platform to educate others and save lives.

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    A Simple Screening That Can Detect A Silent Killer

    Louis Potters, MD, the chairman of the department of radiation medicine at Northwell Health and a professor at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell in New Hyde Park, New York, praises Roker for encouraging men to be proactive about their health.

    I think its great for Al Roker to come forward about this as a way of communicating to other men to know about the importance of screening for prostate cancer, he says. The role of PSA screening is important for all men over the age of 50, and in particular for African American men.

    Because Black men face a higher risk, the American Cancer Society advises this population to consider a screening starting at age 45. Men who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age may also want to be screened by age 45 or younger. The Prostate Cancer Foundation recommends that men discuss screening with their doctor starting around age 40.

    Dr. Potters stresses that the PSA test is vital because most men who have the cancer will not experience any symptoms whatsoever. By the time symptoms appear, it is often too late to cure the disease. Because of this, many health organizations, including the Prostate Cancer Free Foundation and Piedmont Health Care call prostate cancer a silent killer.

    If levels are particularly high, the doctor may follow up with an MRI screening of the prostate and then a biopsy of the gland to make a final diagnosis.

    Al Roker Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

    Al Roker Is Warning Everyone to Do This After His Cancer Diagnosis

    Nov. 6, 2020 — Veteran television weatherman Al Roker told his Today show audience Friday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

    Roker, 66, told viewers he will leave the show for a while to have surgery.

    âItâs a good news-bad news kind of thing,â he said. âGood news is we caught it early. Not great news is that itâs a little aggressive, so Iâm going to be taking some time off to take care of this.â

    Roker said he shared the news to highlight the fact that one in seven Black men, and one in nine men overall, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

    Vincent Laudone, MD, will perform the surgery next week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, Roker said.

    âWeâll just wait and see and, hopefully, in about 2 weeks Iâll be back,â he said.

    Laudone told Today that Rokerâs cancer âappears somewhat limited or confined to the prostate.â But, he said, âbecause itâs more aggressive, we wanted to treat it, and after discussion regarding all of the different options — surgery, radiation, focal therapy — we settled on removing the prostate.â

    The Prostate Cancer Foundation recommends all men be tested for prostate cancer in their 40s. If you have a family history of prostate, ovarian, breast, colon, or pancreatic cancer, the foundation recommends getting screened for the first time at 40.

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    Navigating A Cancer Diagnosis

    • TODAYs Al Roker told Memorial Sloan Kettering that he almost considered not telling his wife about his prostate cancer diagnosis when he first heard the news. But the idea passed as quickly as it came, and his wife supported him throughout his cancer journey.
    • Black men are two to three times more likely to die from prostate cancer, according to one of our experts. Its important to know your risk-level and stay up-to-date with screening because early detection can lead to better outcomes.
    • With a cancer diagnosis comes a wide range of emotions. Its important to have someone in your corner to help you through the cancer journey and be an advocate for your health.

    After almost delaying the appointment because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roker was diagnosed with an aggressive type of prostate cancer. He immediately had surgery to remove his prostate and some surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. Roker has been given consistent all-clears since treatment, but hell be doing lifelong testing to make sure the cancer does not return.

    Things We Can Learn About Prostate Cancer From A Tv Weatherman

    This page adheres to our medical and editorial policy and guidelines.

    Al Roker has been a TV weatherman for more than four decades, and during those years, hes kept NBCs Today Show viewers informed about approaching hurricanes, blizzards and heat waves.

    Roker announced recently that he is also now a cancer patient. And although hes had that distinction for just a few months, his mission is the same: educating and informing his viewersthis time about prostate cancer and screening and treatments for the disease.

    After a routine checkup in September, it turns out I have prostate cancer,

    Roker said while announcing his diagnosis on Nov. 6. Its a little more common than people realize. But if you detect it early, it is a really treatable disease, which is why I wanted to take you on my journey, so we can get educated together and learn how to protect the men in our lives.

    Indeed, Roker revealed several aspects of his September diagnosis that may be helpful in educating men about screening, risk factors and other aspects of prostate cancer. Below are four lessons Rokers case may be able to teach us about the disease.

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