Why We Don’t Treat All Prostate Cancers…At Least Not Immediately — Dr. Parth Modi and Dr. Tanya Watts Kristof

What even is the prostate? This is a question many patients ask at the clinic. It’s part of the reproductive system for individuals assigned male at birth, located right below the bladder and in front of the rectum. Surprisingly, we don’t treat all prostate cancers, at least not immediately. In this conversation, you’ll hear why that is as well as how equal access health systems are improving prostate cancer health equity for Black men.

Dr. Modi is a fellowship-trained urologic oncologist. He is an expert in bladder, prostate and kidney cancer, as well as complex open and robotic surgery. He’s also a committed researcher, focusing on health care policy and health care delivery.

Dr. Kristof is a 4th year urology resident at UChicago Medicine. She is an Oklahoma native and attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Dr. Kristof is also a tutor for kids in Chicago’s Hyde Park community.

“Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery” comes to you from the Department of Surgery at UChicago Medicine. Our host is Dr. Jen Vigneswaran. Our senior producer is Tony Liu. Our podcast cover art comes to you from Pombie Silverman, episode art from Sam Higgins, and music from Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records. 

A special thanks this week to Rayna Boyd. Find more about our work at surgery.uchicago.edu.