PSMA PET Imaging, Pluvicto and Blood Cancer Care at Coastal Cancer Center

September is both Blood Cancer Awareness Month and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Between them, these two groups of cancers touch a large number of families along the Grand Strand every year. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men after skin cancer, and blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma account for close to one in ten new cancer diagnoses in the United States.

Awareness months are a good time to talk about what has changed in how these cancers are found and treated. For prostate cancer, two of the biggest changes are PSMA PET imaging and a targeted treatment called Pluvicto. For blood cancers and blood disorders, the change is less about a single breakthrough and more about having a hematology team close to home.

This post covers what these services are, who they may help, and what to expect if your care team recommends them.

Prostate Cancer by the Numbers

The American Cancer Society estimates about 333,830 new prostate cancer cases in the United States in 2026, and about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. New cases have been rising about 3 percent a year since 2014, with the largest increase in cancers found at a later stage.

That last point matters. When prostate cancer has spread or comes back after treatment, knowing exactly where it is changes the plan. That is where PSMA PET imaging comes in.

What Is PSMA PET Imaging?

PSMA stands for prostate-specific membrane antigen, a protein found on the surface of most prostate cancer cells. There is usually much more of it on cancer cells than on healthy tissue.

A PSMA PET scan uses a small amount of a radioactive tracer that attaches to PSMA. After the tracer is given through an IV, a PET scanner takes images that show where the tracer has collected. Areas of prostate cancer light up on the scan, including small spots that a standard CT or bone scan may miss.

Coastal Cancer Center performs PSMA PET scans on an on-site PET scanner at the practice rather than a mobile unit, so patients stay with the same oncology team from imaging through treatment planning.

Who Might Benefit from a PSMA PET Scan?

Your oncologist may recommend PSMA PET imaging if you:

• Have a new prostate cancer diagnosis and your team needs to know whether it has spread before choosing a treatment plan
• Have a rising PSA level after surgery or radiation, which can mean the cancer has returned
• Are being considered for a PSMA-targeted treatment such as Pluvicto, which requires a PSMA PET scan beforehand

PSMA PET is not a screening test. It is used after a prostate cancer diagnosis to stage the cancer, check for recurrence and guide treatment. If you have not been diagnosed and want to talk about prostate cancer screening, your primary care provider or urologist is the right place to start.

What to Expect During the Scan

The appointment is usually simple. You receive the tracer through an IV, wait about an hour while it moves through your body, then lie still on the scanner for 20 to 30 minutes. Most people go home right after and can return to normal activities the same day. Your care team will go over any specific instructions, such as drinking extra water afterward.

What Is Pluvicto?

Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) is a type of treatment called radioligand therapy. It works on the same principle as the PSMA PET scan, but instead of finding cancer cells, it treats them.

Pluvicto pairs a molecule that binds to PSMA with a small dose of radiation. Given through an IV, it travels through the bloodstream, attaches to PSMA on prostate cancer cells and delivers radiation directly to those cells. Because the radiation is targeted, it may cause less damage to surrounding healthy tissue than treatments that affect the whole body.

Who Is Pluvicto For?

Pluvicto is approved for adults with PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In plain terms, that means prostate cancer that:

• Has spread beyond the prostate
• Keeps growing despite hormone therapy that lowers testosterone
• Has continued to progress after treatment with an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (medications such as enzalutamide or abiraterone)

In March 2025, the FDA expanded this approval so Pluvicto can be used before chemotherapy for eligible patients, not only after it. In the clinical trial that supported this change, patients who received Pluvicto went a median of 9.3 months without their cancer growing on scans, compared with 5.6 months for patients who switched to a different hormone therapy.

A PSMA PET scan is required before starting Pluvicto to confirm the cancer is PSMA-positive.

What to Expect with Pluvicto Treatment

Pluvicto is given as an IV infusion at the cancer center, typically once every six weeks for up to six doses. Each visit usually takes a few hours, and your team will check blood counts and kidney function before each dose.

Because the treatment contains radioactive material, you will be given simple safety steps to follow for a few days after each infusion, such as staying well hydrated, using a separate bathroom if possible and limiting close contact with children and pregnant women. Your care team will explain exactly what to do and for how long.

Risks and Side Effects

As with any cancer treatment, Pluvicto has potential side effects. The most common include fatigue, dry mouth, nausea, decreased appetite and constipation. It can also lower blood counts, which may raise the risk of infection, bleeding or anemia, and it can affect kidney function. Your oncologist will talk through these risks, how they are monitored and whether Pluvicto is a good fit for your situation.

Blood Cancer and Hematology Care Close to Home

Blood Cancer Awareness Month shares September for good reason. According to Blood Cancer United (formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society), someone in the United States is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma about every three minutes, and more than 1.7 million people are living with or in remission from a blood cancer.

Hematology is the branch of medicine that deals with blood and the organs that make it. Coastal Cancer Center’s board-certified hematologists treat blood cancers as well as noncancerous blood disorders, including:

• Leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma
• Anemia and other low blood count conditions
• Hemophilia and bleeding disorders
• Blood clotting disorders
• Bone marrow disorders

Diagnosing a blood condition often starts with lab work, such as a complete blood count, and may include imaging or a bone marrow test. All of this is available at the practice, along with infusion centers at each of the four locations in Myrtle Beach, Conway, Loris and Murrells Inlet. Patients who need chemotherapy, immunotherapy, iron infusions or transfusions can receive them without traveling out of the area.

The practice has cared for people with blood disorders and blood cancers for more than 44 years, and the same team handles symptom management, patient education and financial counseling alongside treatment.

When to Talk with a Provider

For prostate cancer, it is a good idea to ask your oncologist about PSMA PET imaging if you have a new diagnosis and your team is deciding on treatment, or if your PSA is rising after surgery or radiation. If you have advanced prostate cancer that has stopped responding to hormone therapy, ask whether a PSMA PET scan and Pluvicto make sense for you.

For blood conditions, talk with your primary care provider if you notice ongoing fatigue, unexplained bruising or bleeding, frequent infections, night sweats, unexplained weight loss or swollen lymph nodes that do not go away. Many of these symptoms have common, non-cancer causes, but they are worth checking. A referral to a hematologist can help sort out what is going on.

Taking the Next Step

PSMA PET imaging and Pluvicto have given people with prostate cancer more precise ways to find and treat the disease, and hematology care in the Grand Strand means patients with blood cancers and blood disorders can be treated near home. This September, if you or someone you love has questions about either, Coastal Cancer Center’s team is here to help.