Prostate Clinic London
Prostate Cancer in the UK is known to affect one in eight men over the course of their lifetime. This makes the disease the most common male cancer, with 40,000 new confirmed cases every year.
Thankfully, prostate cancer is less aggressive than the majority of other cancers. The sometimes hidden cost of this is that it can be more difficult to detect, diagnose and treat with both accuracy and speed. Over the past decade there has been substantial work to modernise prostate cancer care, with prostate ‘one stop shops’ now the recommended management, as opposed to outdated multiple week waits and appointments.
We offer a new prostate clinic that brings together the expertise of clinicians in men’s reproductive and urological health.
Your Prostate
A man’s prostate provides him with lifelong support for his reproductive system. Sitting just under the bladder, it is a small gland that secretes the seminal fluid that allows sperm to be transported outside of the body during ejaculation. Proper prostate gland function ensures a supportive environment for your sperm, providing the energy required to reach and fertilise a woman’s egg.
Prostate Health
Your prostate is around the size of a golf ball but issues with this small organ commonly lead to uncomfortable or distressing symptoms. Not only does it lie under the bladder, it also sits around the urethra and next to the rectum. The urethra passes through the tissue of the prostate on it’s way to the penis, allowing urine to drain from your bladder. This means prostate concerns can give a range of signs, but it is important to understand that not all of these point to cancer.
Prostatitis and BPH (or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) can present in a similar way but are not cancerous. Prostatitis means the prostate is inflamed, usually as a result of infection. This can cause a burning or painful sensation on urination or ejaculation, with pain sometimes also being present in the rectum. BPH also enlarges the organ, squeezing the urethra so the flow of urine from the bladder is reduced or even stopped completely. BPH affects roughly 75% of men over the age of 60.
Our London Prostate ‘One Stop Shop’
Our central london clinics provide exceptional screening and care for men concerned about their prostate health. We understand that above the debilitating and distressing symptoms, the potential label of cancer leads our patients to seek prompt and efficient medical investigation.
Some services still offer packages requiring over 5 clinic visits, adding strain to patients and increasing the risk of error in diagnosis or unnecessary procedures. We are happy to offer a single initial consultation with follow up in a clinic to discuss the results of your investigations.
Should I book a consultation?
Our consultant urology team work together to form a comprehensive prostate service. Using years of experience backed by the latest research and understanding of prostate disease, you will be expertly guided from investigation to completion of treatment. If you have any signs of altered prostate function their assessment will allow quick resolution of your health concerns.
Pain during urination or ejaculation are of course good reasons to book an expert review with us. Symptoms however can be more subtle than this. Those men who have noticed a change in the flow of their urine, the frequency of going to the toilet or feeling that their bladder does not fully drain are recommended to attend a consultation with our prostate specialists.
Prostate cancer at times can be present with no symptoms at all. Up to 10% of prostate cancer is hereditary, so if you have a family history then a check up is advised even in the absence of sexual or urinary concerns.
Your Initial Consultation
Our initial consultation not only covers family history but a focused urological review by one of our consultants. This is combined with a physical examination, allowing our team to build a clinical picture to guide any next steps. The urology and oncology clinicians will then advise if an MRI scan is required.
Prostate MRI
At 9 Harley Street, we utilise the latest technology advances in MRI, known as ‘multi-parametric’ or mpMRI. This high definition scan allows us to inform over a third of patients that they are clear of prostate cancer without the need for any invasive tests.
Blood Tests
Routine blood tests are taken but will also include your PSA level. PSA or Prostate Specific Antigen is raised in cases of prostate cancer, and a low PSA reading makes it very unlikely that the disease is present.
Specialist Follow Up
The scan images are reviewed by an experienced urological radiologist who looks over every fine detail. If there is anything that needs further investigation, the high quality scan allows our clinicians to take the exact piece of tissue that needs to be studied. A high level of precision means less chance of infection. Commonly infection rates are around 1 in 500, rather than 30 in 500.
Our consultants take into account your PSA result when reviewing images and at follow up. Our prostate one stop shop not only allows us to provide you with a better service but has numerous benefits for you as the patient.
Alongside a reduction in waiting time, new technology twinned with years of urological expertise means faster and more accurate diagnosis for you. Booking with the 9 Harley Street prostate one stop shop can lead to both earlier detection and the successful treatment of high risk prostate tumours.
