A prostate cancer diagnosis in and of itself can be extremely overwhelming. When it comes to prostate cancer treatments, patients have many options.
Men often have many questions about the disease – everything from cancer staging to side effects of treatment to what life will be like when and if they are cancer-free.
As a matter of fact, the American Cancer Society lists a host of questions men and their partners may be thinking about once they receive the news about the diagnosis.
It’s important for patients to take the time to get the answers to all the questions they may have.
One of the First Questions That Needs Answering: What Prostate Cancer Treatment Is Best for Me?
There are 3.1 million Americans alive today, thanks to early detection of prostate cancer and proper treatment, according to the American Cancer Society.
The National Cancer Institute says there are seven standard types of treatments for prostate cancer.
- Watching and Waiting: Doctors closely monitor cancer without any intervention.
- Surgery: Surgeons used different types of invasive, surgical procedures to remove the cancer depending on the type and stage of the cancer.
- Radiation Therapy: Radiation is used to kill the cancer cells and prevent new ones from growing.
- Hormone Therapy: This therapy uses hormones to block the cancer growth.
- Chemotherapy: This treatment uses drug therapy to stop and kill the cancer.
- Immunotherapy: The treatment uses a patient’s immune system to stop and fight the cancer.
- Bisphosphonate Therapy: This helps reduce bone disease when cancer has spread to the bones.
Sometimes a combination of these therapies is used to knock out prostate cancer.
On top of these, there are new treatments and clinical trials constantly being researched.
Getting the Experts to Help with Treatment Plans
Since there are a lot of options, there are a lot of decisions a prostate cancer patient must make.
That’s where the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami can help.
CyberKnife is cutting-edge radiation technology also known as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy or SBRT. It can kill prostate tumors with precise, pinpointed accuracy and it leaves the surrounding healthy tissue virtually unharmed.
“Oftentimes patients come to us with a lot of unanswered questions and they are scared and confused,” said Dr. Mark Pomper, board-certified radiation oncologist and the Medical Director of the CyberKnife Center of Miami. “It’s our job to take the time to explain to patients what treatments we think will help them most and if CyberKnife can be part of their plan. We are the leaders in this state-of-the-art treatment in Miami, Broward and South Florida. Once we talk with our patients, they are much calmer knowing we are on their side and knowing CyberKnife is highly effective at curing prostate cancer,”
The CyberKnife Advantage
With CyberKnife, there is no cutting, incision, blood, anesthesia or pain. Plus, there is little to no recovery time.
While treatment response differs among patients, for more than a decade, clinical experience shows cure rates of more than 98% using CyberKnife for prostate cancer.
A 12-year study, presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology meeting in October, showed that SBRT has a high success rate for long-term cancer control.
The side effects of traditional treatments can be life-altering according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Treatments and the cancer itself can cause urinary, bowel and erectile dysfunction.
With CyberKnife – because of its pinpoint precision – there are minimal if any side effects. They can include fatigue, urinary irritation and rectal irritation. Over the counter medication can help minimize these and they usually go away on their own with a few days or weeks. There is also a lower risk of toxicity than with traditional radiation.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Near Me
At the CyberKnife Center of Miami, our goal is to help our prostate cancer patients live longer and most importantly to maintain quality of life while undergoing treatment and beyond.
Call the CyberKnife Center of Miami for an appointment at 305-279-2900 and go to our prostate cancer website now for more information. www.prostatecancertreatmentmiami.com