Mar 11, 2016 | Cancer, Health Tips, Urology
Guest post by Reza Mehrazin, MD, Assistant Professor of Urologic Oncology in the Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. To make an appointment with Dr. Mehrazin, call 212-241-4812.
Kidney cancer, also known as renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is among the most lethal of urologic cancers. In 2015, 61,560 new cases are estimated to occur in the United States and approximately 23% of these patients are expected to die from their disease. The incidence of kidney cancer, particularly small tumors which are less than 4 cm in diameter, has been on a rise and this has largely been attributed to the increased use of cross-sectional abdominal imaging, such as CT or MRI scans. Although surgery and removal of the tumor is the standard of care for kidney cancer, there is growing understanding that in some patients who are elderly and/or have other medical conditions, the potential benefits of surgery is questionable. For these patients, active surveillance or close monitoring of the renal tumors could be a great option. There are many studies that show that an initial short-term period of observation to better understand the tumor growth rate may be safe for small kidney tumors in select candidates. (more…)
Nov 18, 2015 | Cancer, Head and Neck
Guest post by Ilya Likhterov, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and member of the Division of Head and Neck Oncology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. To make an appointment with Dr. Likhterov, call 212-844-8775.
Thyroid cancer diagnosis is becoming more and more common among patients of all ages, but in the vast majority of cases, thyroid cancer is slow growing and rarely causes symptoms while it is small. Although there is potential for thyroid cancer to spread to the lymph nodes in the neck, overall prognosis is excellent even in the high risk, advanced stages of disease. (more…)
Sep 18, 2015 | Breast Cancer, Cancer, Women's Health
By Sara Schub, who is 45 years old and currently living in New York City. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia University and works in healthcare administration. She also counsels women at risk of HBOC and volunteers for various health-related charities.
In early 2011, at a routine appointment with Dr. Monica Prasad, she asked me how I was doing. I took that as an opportunity to tell her what was weighing heavily on my mind – my mother and my cousin were both recently diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. She immediately inquired about my family history of cancer and for the first time I realized how prevalent cancer was in my family. Dr. Prasad suggested I go for genetic testing because I might be at high risk of developing the disease, so I went to a genetic counselor at Mount Sinai. I told her what I knew about my family history, she drew my genetic family tree, enumerated the various genetic mutations that were possible, and recommended genetic testing. (more…)
Sep 1, 2015 | Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Urology
Guest post by Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, the Kyung Hyun Kim MD, Chair in Urology in the Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System
September is often a bittersweet moment in time: an end to weekends at the beach, late sunsets, grilling dinner in the backyard, and family vacations. But September also ushers in a new season: a return to school for our children, the start of a theater subscription, baseball playoffs, and more. For health professionals in the urology field, it is a special time. Prostate Cancer Awareness Month reminds us of how many men we can save with increased awareness and early detection and is a solemn reminder of those patients whose cancer had progressed too far to intervene successfully. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cancer, Head and Neck, Women's Health
Guest post by Marita Teng, MD, Associate Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and member of the Head and Neck Institute and Center for Thyroid and Parathyroid Diseases at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Thyroid nodules are exceedingly common, especially in women. By age 50, up to 70 percent of women have one or more thyroid nodules, but the vast majority of these are noncancerous. In fact, of all thyroid nodules, up to 95 percent are ultimately characterized as benign.
However, largely because of the increased use of radiologic imaging, the incidence of thyroid nodules – and the incidence of thyroid cancer – is increasing. Though this statistic may seem alarming, thyroid cancer is by far one of the most curable cancers. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Cancer, Ear Nose Throat
Guest post by Dr. Neil Gildener-Leapman from the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
When the epidemic started to be recognized by doctors, I can remember diagnosing my first patient with human papilloma virus (HPV)-related throat cancer. The patient was a very easy-going, jovial family man, and an active athlete in a community sports league. He came to the visit with his wife and adult daughter, wanting to have his family’s support as we gave him the details of his diagnosis he laughed and said: “Ahh, that makes sense! You know…back in my day… I used to be a very popular guy!” His wife and daughter giggled and shook their heads in unison. (more…)
Kidney cancer, also known as renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is among the most lethal of urologic cancers. In 2015, 61,560 new cases are estimated to occur in the United States and approximately 23% of these patients are expected to die from their disease. The incidence of kidney cancer, particularly small tumors which are less than 4 cm in diameter, has been on a rise and this has largely been attributed to the increased use of cross-sectional abdominal imaging, such as CT or MRI scans. Although surgery and removal of the tumor is the standard of care for kidney cancer, there is growing understanding that in some patients who are elderly and/or have other medical conditions, the potential benefits of surgery is questionable. For these patients, active surveillance or close monitoring of the renal tumors could be a great option. There are many studies that show that an initial short-term period of observation to better understand the tumor growth rate may be safe for small kidney tumors in select candidates. (more…)
