Valley doctor raises awareness for prostate cancer screenings

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — This weekend, former president Joe Biden announced he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.

Valley doctors say getting screened for prostate cancer is key to saving lives.

Phillip Kim, a urologist specialist in the Valley, recently opened his practice in Edinburg to treat and spread awareness on urological health.

Kim says one of the most common illnesses he treats is prostate cancer.

"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men," Kim said.

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 men gets diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Nearly 314,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.

Kim says early screening and detection are key.

"The median age of diagnosis is around 66 years old, and the PSA screening can start when you are 45 or when you are 40, depending on your risk factors," Kim said.

Those factors can be family genetic mutations and family medical history. This includes BRCA, a gene also found in breast cancer.

Kim says one of his goals is to bring awareness to screening tests.

"When patients come in with prostate cancer, I feel like it is a late diagnosis," said Dr. Kim. "I think some people aren't getting the PSA screening tests at the recommended age."

Kim adds that there are no symptoms from prostate cancer at an early stage; he says symptoms come in at later stages of the disease.

Some of those late-stage symptoms, when the cancer has spread, can include bone pain and urinary symptoms, such as frequent urination or difficulty urinating.