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MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: You or someone you care about has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This video will help you understand how prostate cancer affects your body. The prostate is a gland in men that makes part of the fluid in semen. It's found just under the bladder in front of the last part of the large intestine, called the rectum. The prostate wraps around part of the urethra, which is the tube that passes urine and semen out of the body. Most prostate cancer starts in tiny sacs within the gland that make prostatic fluid. Here, cancer cells form from gland cells that line the sacs. Over time, the cancer cells can multiply and form a malignant or cancerous tumor. However, most prostate cancer grows more slowly than other types of cancer. An important risk for prostate cancer is age. Prostate cancer is more common in men over the age of 65. Race is another risk factor. Prostate cancer is more common in African American men than in any other race. The risk is also higher in men whose relatives, such as a father or brother, have a history of prostate cancer. There are usually no symptoms in early prostate cancer. However, as the tumor enlarges the prostate, you may have the following symptoms-- difficulty starting urination; weak, interrupted, or painful urination; needing to urinate frequently, especially at night; painful ejaculation; problems getting an erection; blood in urine or semen; and pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or pelvis. Note that these symptoms may be caused by prostate enlargement that is not cancer. If you have prostate cancer, your doctor will need to determine the grade and the stage, or progression, of the disease. Each grade is based on how normal the prostate tissue looks under a microscope. The grading system for prostate cancer is called the Gleason grading system. In this system, samples of two main areas of the tumor will each be given a grade from one to five. The grades will be added together to give the cancer a Gleason score between 2 and 10. The higher the Gleason score, the more likely the cancer is to grow and spread to other areas. Each stage for prostate cancer is based on the amount of cancer you have and where it's found. The stages are numbered from I to IV. In stage I, the tumor has not spread outside the prostate. In stage II, the cancer is more advanced but is still only in the prostate. In stage III, the cancer has spread just beyond the outer layer of the prostate. And in stage IV, the cancer has spread into nearby tissues as well as more distant areas of the body. As you deal with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, continue to talk to your doctor and your cancer care team.
"[I] have come to rely upon the Doe Report and your great staff of
illustrators for all my medical malpractice cases. … Please know
that I enthusiastically recommend you to all my colleagues.
Frank Rothermel
Bernhardt & Rothermel
"Our firm was able to settle our case at an all day mediation yesterday and
I am confident that the detail and overall appearance of the medical
illustrations significantly contributed to the settlement. When we require
medical illustrations in the future, I will be sure to contact [MLA]."
Noel Turner, III
Burts, Turner, Rhodes & Thompson
Spartanburg, SC
"I wanted to take some time out to let you know what a wonderful job you did
with the 'collapsed lung/fractured rib' illustrations. They were both
detailed and accurate. My medical expert was comfortable working with them
and he spent at least an hour explaining to the jury the anatomy of the
lungs, the ribs and the injuries depicted in the illustrations. Needless to
say, the jury was riveted to the doctor during his testimony.
The jury returned a verdict for $800,000.00 and I'm sure we would not have
done so well if not for the visualizations we were able to put forth with
your assistance. Lastly, my special thanks to Alice [Senior Medical
Illustrator] who stayed late on Friday night and patiently dealt with my
last minute revisions."
Daniel J. Costello
Proner & Proner
New York, NY
"We got a defense verdict yesterday! Your exhibit was extremely helpful in
showing the jury how unlikely it is to damage all four of the nerve branches
which control the sense of taste."
Karen M. Talbot
Silverman Bernheim & Vogel, P.C.
Philadeplphia, PA
Medical Legal Art creates medical demonstrative evidence (medical
illustrations, drawings, pictures, graphics, charts, medical animations,
anatomical models, and interactive presentations) for use during legal
proceedings, including research, demand letters, client conferences,
depositions, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, mock jury
trials and for use in the courtroom. We do not provide legal or medical
advice. If you have legal questions, you should find a lawyer with whom you
can discuss your case issues. If you have medical questions, you should seek the advice of a healthcare provider.