With the official creation of a prostate cancer center, the Besançon University Hospital is getting organized to coordinate patient care. The head of the urology and andrology department François Kleinclauss presents this initiative to us.
The Besançon University Hospital has just opened a center dedicated to the comprehensive care of prostate cancer. 26 doctors and nursing staff from 13 specialties are brought together in a single establishment, which has a number (03 81 47 71 17, Monday to Friday) and a one-stop shop. Patients can be referred by their attending physician or come for consultation.
First male cancer
“This initiative is linked to two elements, explains the head of the urology and andrology department of the CHRU François Kleinclauss. The multiplication of advances in research on prostate cancer and the incidence of this disease”. Prostate cancer is the leading male cancer with 48,000 new cases in France per year and 8,000 deaths. In Franche-Comté, the standardized incidence is 113 new cases per year per 100,000 inhabitants.
It affects one in eight men, the majority of whom are struggling to find their way into the therapeutic arsenal at their disposal. “Research on prostate cancer is progressing in all aspects of the disease. MRI or image fusion biopsy is now used; surgery is much less performed than before; chemotherapy is evolving …”, quotes , jumble, François Kleinclauss.
One-stop number and window
The idea of a center dedicated to the comprehensive care of prostate cancer comes from countries where similar systems have proved their worth, such as Switzerland or the Netherlands. It emanates from both patients and caregivers.
The number and the one-stop-shop give patients direct access to the service that concerns them, without going through the administrative maze of the CHU de Besançon. This type of structure is also a great time saver. “Our multidisciplinary approach to the disease allows patients to see all the doctors at once, on the same day at the same time, instead of making an appointment with the urologist, then with the oncologist, then with the surgeon. , etc… “, welcomes François Kleinclauss.
“Shockwave therapy”
Because prostate cancer and its treatments can affect sexual health, patients at the center can, for example, benefit from a consultation with an andrologist. This will be able to offer support to the couple and appropriate treatments, including “shockwave therapy”, localized shock waves to improve erectile dysfunction (device expected for the end of 2018).
One of the centre’s other assets is also to be able to offer vesico-sphincter and perineal rehabilitation in the event of urinary disorders, with the intervention of a dedicated and specialized physiotherapist. “The goal is also and above all to improve the quality of life of the patient, who can find himself very affected by the disease”, insists François Kleinclauss.
Usually slow-growing cancer
Prostate cancer is strongly linked to age: rare before age 50, the highest number of cases is around age 70. It is a cancer of generally slow progression (10 to 15 years on average), most often asymptomatic. However, some prostate cancers can grow quickly and lead to symptomatic metastases.
.
