SSM Health Illinois is now offering a cutting-edge imaging service at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon that helps better detect prostate cancer in men.
Pylarify is an advanced diagnostic imaging agent that uses both PET (position emission tomography) and CT (computer tomography) scans to locate prostrate-specific cancer cells in patients.
Once present in the body, the imaging agent lights up, helping reveal the location of the disease – typically before any other type of scan.
“This new service will provide better quality of care for men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer,” says Randy Shields, Regional Director of Imaging Services at SSM Health Illinois. “This imaging agent helps our providers to pinpoint the disease in our patients so they can move forward with quicker treatment.”
Per the American Cancer Society nearly one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during some point in their life. Fortunately, the survival rate is extremely high, especially in cases where prostate cancer is diagnosed early. While prostate cancer can be diagnosed early, it’s not clear if the benefits of testing outweigh the risks, such as finding (and treating) cancers that may not cause any complications. Talk to your SSM Health primary care physician about your concerns, the risks and potential benefits of a screening before you decide.
