Second federal judge blocks President Donald
Trump’s plan to send Haitians home
Types and typical victims of
prostate cancer
Most forms of the disease
progress slowly and are highly
treatable. However, prostate
cancer is deadly, and it kills
quickly. Once a patient’s cancer
reaches its fourth and final stage,
the five-year survival rate is is a
dismal 29 percent.
Two groups of men are
particularly susceptible to prostate
cancer: those over the age of 70,
and African-American men. The
latter are 1.6 times more likely
to develop the disease than white
men, and 2.6 times more likely to
experience prostate cancer than
Asian-American men.
Prostate cancer: Symptoms
and diagnosis
Most alarming is that many
patients with the disease don’t
experience any symptoms.
Experts like Dr. Joshua Halpern
of the Accord Physicians Group
recommends that all men, especially
African Americans, be screened
regularly for prostate cancer by a
doctor once they reach age 40.
Dr. Halpern is a certified radiation
oncologist who received his
oncology training at Roswell Park
Cancer Institute and MD Anderson
Cancer Center, the nation’s leading
cancer treatment center. He has
treated all forms of cancer for more
than 40 years, and has had handson
experience with thousands of
prostate cancer patients. He explains
the processes that urologists use to
diagnose and confirm the disease.
The first step in the rigorous
process of diagnosing prostate
cancer is to draw blood and conduct
a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)
test. PSA is a protein naturally
produced in men’s prostate glands,
and abnormally-high PSA levels
may indicate the presence of
prostate cancer, although they
could also be signs of other prostate
issues such as inflammation or
enlargement.
Normal levels of the protein are
usually in the 0.0–4.0 range. But
once the PSA levels are greater than
4.0, Dr. Halpern says, the normal
procedure is to recommend a
biopsy during which a small section
of prostate tissue is removed and
examined for signs of cancer.
Dr. Halpern explains that if
Caribbean L 6 ife, April 19–25, 2019 BQ
the biopsy results are positive for
prostate cancer, the next step is
to consult a radiation oncologist.
At Accord Physicians Group, he
and his fellow physicians work in
close collaboration to decide on a
course of action.
Prostate cancer treatment
Dr. Halpern is one of the first
oncologists to use a form of treatment
called Image Guided Radiation
Therapy (IGRT). It is completely
non-invasive, and involves 45
10-minute sessions during which a
short beam of radiation is targeted
directly at the inside of the prostate.
“Published reports on IMRT/
IGRT radiation, with careful
administration, have shown the best
results and the lowest toxicity,” says
Dr. Halpern. “In our experience,
tumor control is very high and
tolerance to our treatment is nearly
universal.”
Excellent results of the cancer
control as well as the low side effect
profile are due to the fascinating
physics of this radiation therapy.
The plan that’s used to deliver
the radiotherapy is individually
and specifically designed for each
person. It takes into account the
differences that all people have in
relation to their size, muscle to body
fat ratio, and the physical size of the
prostate and the surrounding organs.
It also takes into consideration any
anatomic changes that may have
occurred due to previous pelvic
surgeries, trauma, and anatomic
abnormalities such as inguinal
hernias. After this detailed plan is
complete, the treatment therapy
begins. On a daily basis during
the therapy, the equipment and
the technician who delivers the
radiation performs a daily minute
adjustment to precisely deliver the
radiotherapy despite differences
such as contents of the colon and the
amount of urine in the bladder at the
time of treatment.
Once IGRT therapy has been
completed, the patient usually
exhibits dramatically lower PSA
levels, indicating that the cancer is
either gone or is fully in remission.
In the occasional case when PSA
levels remain extremely high, the
oncologist will meet regularly
with the patient to track progress
and discuss options. All medical
personnel at Accord Physicians
Group have received special training
to ensure the patient’s comfort
during and after treatment, and to
respectfully and compassionately
assist him with the emotional
effects of a cancer diagnosis and
treatment.
Accord Physicians Group and
prostate cancer
Dr. Halpern states, “Over the
last 10 years we treated hundreds
of prostate cancer patients at
Accord Physicians.” He elaborates,
that “Our cure and remission rates
are between 93 and 95 percent
over this 10-year period, and our
side effect profile is well below the
national average.”
Dr. Halpern urges all men —
particularly African-American
men over the age of 40 — to be
screened regularly for prostate
cancer.
Accord Physicians PLLC
2270 Kimball St #101, Brooklyn,
NY 11234
For more information visit
www.accordmd.com
To schedule consultation
with doctor Halpern
call 347-535-4928
BUS I N E S S , B ROOK LYN S T Y LE – A DV E RTI S E M E NT
How to outsmart prostate cancer!
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in America, ranking only behind skin cancer — and it will affect one out of
every nine American men during their lifetime. In fact, research has shown that more than half of all men in the United States
over the age of 70 are now living with some form of prostate cancer.
NEW YORK (AP) — A second
federal judge has blocked
the Department of Homeland
Security from forcing tens of
thousands of Haitians to return
to their native country.
U.S. District Judge William
F. Kuntz in New York issued a
nationwide injunction Thursday
preventing the department
from terminating Temporary
Protected Status for Haitians.
Kuntz ruled on a lawsuit
filed by Haitians in Florida and
New York that challenged the
Trump administration’s decision
to end the status granted
to Haiti after its 2010 earthquake.
The trial in federal court in
Brooklyn stemmed from one of
seven lawsuits filed by immigrants
and advocates over the
2017 move to end the program.
The program has allowed about
300,000 people from Haiti, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Sudan
and other countries to stay in
the U.S. for years following
natural disasters or violence in
their home countries.
In October, a California
judge hearing another of the
lawsuits temporarily blocked
the changes covering people
from those four countries,
forcing the administration to
maintain their protected status
for now.
But the Brooklyn case, which
covered only Haitians, was the
first time the administration’s
move to end the program had
been put on trial.
Kuntz said the plaintiffs
offered persuasive evidence
that the policy change was
motivated by ``a discriminatory
purpose of removing non-white
immigrants to the country.’’
His 145-page ruling cited
evidence that officials from
Homeland Security and other
federal agencies ``reverse engineered
the TPS review process
to achieve the desired political
outcome: the termination of
Haiti’s TPS.’’
A spokesperson for Homeland
Security said in an email
the department is ``complying
with intervening orders’’ but
additional change is needed.
``What is often not reported
is that the Trump Administration
has forcefully advocated
for Congressional action to
provide legal status for longstanding
TPS beneficiaries in
good standing: a change to
the law is needed, not judicial
intervention,’’ the spokesperson.
The government is expected
to appeal the ruling.
In response to the ruling in
California, the Justice Department
denied the administration
had done anything improper
and said the ruling ``usurps the
role of the executive branch.’’
An attorney for the plaintiffs,
Per Sejal Zota of the
National Immigration Project
of the National Lawyers Guild,
said the ruling ``vindicates the
brave struggle of Haitian TPS
holders who challenged Trump,
because the law was on their
side.’’ U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz. www.mbbanyc.org
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