Mount Sinai Health System Launches Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit in New York City
An initiative to support prostate health in the community
The Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology at Mount Sinai has launched the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit to provide early diagnosis of prostate cancer and support health of men in the community.
The mobile van is equipped to perform screenings and tests including the prostate-specific antigen test, digital rectal exam, ExactVu™ micro-ultrasound system, EchoNous bladder scanner, genomics testing, and more.
In the United States, prostate cancer is the second-most-common form of cancer in men, following skin cancer. About 1 in 40 American men will die of prostate cancer and Black men are more at risk. Early prostate cancer detection is the best way to keep healthy. The American Urological Association recommends that all men above age 55, and all Black men above age 45, consult with their doctor to discuss the benefits of screening.
“The Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit will be an invaluable service for the community, allowing us to meet our patients where they are,” says Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, Chair of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System and the Kyung Hyun Kim, MD Professor of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Our goal is that with increased education, awareness, and access to testing, we can help detect prostate cancer early, save lives, and close the gaps in high-risk diagnostic and fatality rates.”
“Many men are at an increased risk of both being diagnosed with and dying from prostate cancer, getting these life-saving resources for testing and treatment into our communities has never been more urgent,” said Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. “I am proud to support Mount Sinai in these efforts to ensure we do not continue to lose far too many husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers, sons, and friends to this disease. This mobile screening unit will bring awareness and care right into the communities where they are most needed.”
Mount Sinai Health System will join forces with local community partners to raise awareness about the disease and services offered by the mobile unit, set up prostate screening appointments at the mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit in neighborhoods across New York City, and schedule follow-up visits as needed for patients with Mount Sinai Health System urologists.
The Mobile Unit will be making the following stops in the coming weeks:
- Saturday, May 14: 9 am to 4 pm EDT: Friendship Baptist Church, 92 Herkimer Street, Brooklyn, New York 11216
- Sunday, May 22: 11 am to 4:30 pm EDT: Christian Fellowship SDA Church, 777 Schenectady Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11203
- Saturday, June 18: 11 am to 4:30 pm EDT: Annual Juneteenth Celebration—Street Fair, 116th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) and Fifth Avenue, New York City
Made possible by a donation from Mr. Smith, the mobile unit brings state-of-the-art imaging equipment and specialized staff directly to the communities that need them most. The initiative is led by Dr. Tewari, a world-renowned urologist and prostate cancer surgeon. As Director of the Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer at Mount Sinai, he leads a multidisciplinary team committed to improving prostate cancer treatment, research, and education. The department is at the forefront of urological care and treats more than 100,000 patients annually.
The Department of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System has one of the most robust robotic surgery programs in the country, with Dr. Tewari having performed more than 7,000 surgeries. Genomic testing and advanced imaging are routine for patients with prostate cancer, providing personalized and precise treatment protocols. Dr. Tewari and his team have performed thousands of MRI-guided fusion biopsies, have a very large cohort of active surveillance patients, and have been innovators in developing novel surgical techniques to optimize sexual function recovery and urinary continence.
Mount Sinai’s Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer at The Tisch Cancer Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Tewari, offers the most up-to-date diagnosis, management, and treatment approaches for prostate cancer. The team of world-renowned experts includes urologic, radiation, and medical oncologists, as well as impotence specialists, pathologists, radiologists, and oncology nurses.
More Information:
- Prostate cancer screenings for insured patients typically have no out-of-pocket costs. New York State residents who don’t have insurance may be eligible for screenings through the New York State Cancer Services Program if they meet income and age eligibility criteria. 1-866-442-CANCER (2262).
- To track the van location and schedule a community event, call 646-531-8092 or email prostatecancer@mountsinai.org
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org/care/cancer/services/prostate/mobile-screening
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. The Health System includes approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, a school of nursing, and schools of medicine and graduate school of biomedical sciences.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York and recognized as one of the world’s top Smart Hospital by Newsweek. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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