El Paso - Rio Grande Urology is opening an Advanced Prostate Center to provide specialized prostate care to El Paso and Las Cruces patients.
Currently, Rio Grande Urology specializes in robotic surgery, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, kidney stones, and vasectomy reversal. Although their physicians treat a wide variety of conditions, the physician leadership team saw a need to offer a special clinic for advanced prostate cancer treatment.
Dr. Daniel Voglewede, a board certified urologist, will serve as the Physician Champion for the center.
According to Dr. Voglewede, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Nearly 240,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, but there are only a small percentage die from the disease.
“We’ve learned a lot about cancer in the past five years. Namely, early intervention is important. We now know that not every prostate cancer patient needs advanced treatment, but every patient needs active surveillance,” says(this is the correct spelling)Dr. Voglewede
Based on new research and advanced testing, there is a paradigm shift in treatment protocols.
“We are seeing a shift from over-diagnosing to diagnosing more advanced cases. There are new tests that look at genomic makeup, so we can tell precisely who is most at risk,” says Dr. Voglewede.
When a patient is high risk and doesn’t respond to treatment, timing is everything.
“At the center, we specialize in immunotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy — when cancer cells become resistant, new medications are required to overcome the resistance. We are El Paso’s only treatment center for immunotherapy for prostate cancer.”
The physician team will continue to treat their active patients, and patients will only be referred to the center if they become resistant to medication. There, they can receive medication, advanced therapies, and chemotherapy based on their individual needs..
“Once prostate cancer is in advanced stages, there is no cure. But there are methods to prolong survival, and our center is dedicated to giving our patients the best chance of survival,” says Dr. Voglewede.
As the Physician Champion for the center, Dr. Voglewede will continue to see his normal patients, but his primary focus will be on those who need advanced care.
The field of urology is ever-changing and Dr. Voglewede is continually learning in order to keep up with each new treatment. “Advancements are continuous. Part of my goal is to be continually educated in this field. Being a physician is interesting and rewarding, but it also requires dedication to education to make sure we provide the best, most advanced care.”
Dr. Voglewede was born in Cincinnati but grew up in Mexico City. He attended the University of Notre Dame and completed his doctorate degree at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. He wanted to put his bilingual skills to good use, so he completed his residency in urology at the University of New Mexico, and started practicing medicine in El Paso.
“I wanted to settle in a place where my skills would be put to the best use. I enjoy El Paso, my beautiful wife is from Mexico, and we raised our three children in this community — all of them are bilingual.”
For Dr. Voglewede, treating patients is not a job, it’s his passion. At the age of twelve, after an enlightening biology class experience dissecting an animal, he knew he wanted to be a doctor.
“The best thing I can do for my patients is improve their quality of life. Helping them is such a rewarding feeling, and that is where I get inspired to continue my work. If a patient smiles because of a good outcome, how can that not be great?”
For more information about the Advanced Prostate Center, please call 915-225-2020 or visit them online at http://rgu.us.com/.