Scanning for Answers
You would have to travel at least 85miles from Sioux City to find another one. In Iowa, the next closest oneis in Des Moines. So, when there’s something like this, right here in your community, you need to get theword out! Especially when it could save men’s lives. That’s how Dr. Greg Naden feels about the new Axumin PET/CT scan right here in downtownSioux City at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center (JENCC).
If your PSA (prostate-specific antigen) starts to creep up for no apparent reason, even after you’ve had surgery or treatment for prostate cancer, you could be a candidate for an Axumin scan.Dr. Naden, Board Certified Radiation Oncologist at JENCC, says, “Physicians have been frustrated in the past becausethere has not been a way toevaluate a man for prostate cancer recurrence. The Axumin isotope has changed that.”
Dr. Naden goes on to explain that this new scan is “like a PET scan essentially, but it’s using a different isotope. This one is sensitive to the prostate specific antigen (PSA),which is why it is used selectively for prostate cancer.” JENCC has had an in-house PET (positron emission tomography) scanner for close to 10 years.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text]Mason Jensen, CNMT, NMTCB, one of two JENCC nuclear medicine technologists certified in PET/CT, explains, “An isotope isa radiopharmaceutical (radioactive drug) that we use for our scans.Certain isotopes, like Axumin, can be specific to a certain area of the body.”Standard scans have been unable to determine the specific location of cancer until the PSA is excessively elevated (10 to 30 or higher).
Axumin can detect recurrent disease with PSA levels less than 10, which is the reason this scan is such an important development.“There are also going to be situations where the PSA is behaving in a very unusual way, like if we treat it with radiation for instance, or hormones, and for some reason the PSA isn’t going down,” adds Dr. Naden. “This is going to be a great scan to evaluate that. That’s exciting.”The amount of time for each scan is determined based on each patient’s height and weight. The amount of time for the entire scanning process will vary, but scans usually take 35-40 minutes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text]When you’re faced with the possibility of prostate cancer coming back, it’s stressful enough to think of going through treatment again. Finally having an option to get answers – without traveling hundreds of miles – can help manage that stress and take away any fear of the unknown.“You understand that when you get a patient from the lobby and see how scared they are,”shares Mason. “You always have to keep that in the back of your mind… It’s definitely important to be positive.”Going to a place like JENCC, right here in SiouxCity, where everyone you meet understands and cares, makes a difference. And when employees feel like Mason does, it shows.“The people I’ve worked with have been a joy.It’s not like you’re going to work every day. You’re working with your family,” explains Mason.World-class cancer care close to you. By people who treat each other – and you – like family. What you need, when you need it most. To get the answers you need. That’s theJune E. Nylen Cancer Center.712-252-0088230 Nebraska St., Sioux City, IA 51101www.nylencancercenter.com