At VA, diversity, education, and innovation work hand-in-hand, building partnerships that serve those who have served.
Genetic testing looks for variations in a person’s genes. Finding gene variations can help with decisions about cancer treatment. Finding gene variations can also help to understand why cancer developed and how best to find cancers early or to prevent them altogether.
My grandfather, Thomas Purinton, enlisted in the Navy at age 16 in 1899 and was assigned to the square-rigger USS Essex, and my Massachusetts ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, so I was favorably disposed to military service. When I was a second-year medical student in 1971, one of my colleagues was accepted into the Medical Osteopathic Scholarship Program, which is the Department of Defense program to recruit future physicians.
Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who is best known as “Stormin’ Norman,” the four-star general who led American forces to victory in Operation Desert Storm.
The researchers conducted a systematic review of 67 studies to compare the effectiveness of watchful waiting versus radical prostatectomy, along with several other treatments. The review is one of the first studies to look at very long-term results.
Conversely, the researchers concluded that men with prostate cancer and PTSD may have been at lower risk of death from non-suicidal causes due to favorable physical health resulting from greater health care use and early diagnosis of localized—or low-risk—cancer.
Across the U.S., Black men are disproportionally diagnosed with prostate cancer and are more likely to die from the disease than their white counterparts.
Integrative oncology combines complementary practices like yoga and acupuncture with conventional cancer care. A primary goal is to help prevent or lessen side effects from chemotherapy and surgery.
VA teamed up with the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) to encourage men (and their families) to better understand prostate cancer risk and taking proactive measures to protect their health.
Today at age 56, Atkinson is fighting another battle—this time a case of aggressive prostate cancer. Thanks to treatment at the VA Portland Health Care System, his condition has improved dramatically in recent months through precision oncology—the molecular profiling of tumors to identify targetable alterations that can be treated therapeutically. Most recently, his PSA level had plummeted to 0.2, after a high of 115 in December.
The National Oncology Program's NPOP is guided by evidence-based best practices and substantiated by the latest innovative cancer research.
Many Veterans have unique cancer exposure risks like Agent Orange. VA's cancer prevention programs can help.