One in eight men will hear the words – “You’ve got prostate cancer” – at some point in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men.
This year alone nearly 250,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and more than 34,000 men will die from prostate cancer deaths.
If you are one of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer this year or in the future, the big question is: What’s next?
■ What steps should you take once diagnosed?
■ What’s the best treatment for you and your cancer?
■ Should you get a second opinion?
■ Will treatment limit my lifestyle?
■ Will treatment lead to permanent side effects?
The answer to these questions depends on the type of cancer, the stage, and the type of treatment.
Prostate Cancer Treatments
The National Cancer Institute says there are seven standard types of treatments for prostate cancer.
■ Watching and waiting: Doctors closely monitor the cancer through testing, but without any intervention.
■ Surgery: Surgeons used radical prostatectomy or laparoscopic robotic surgery to remove the prostate which are invasive procedures with more side effects.
■ Radiation therapy: Radiation kills the cancer cells and prevents new ones from growing.
■ Hormone Therapy: Stops the male hormone testosterone from being produced or reaching prostate cancer cells. Most prostate cancer cells rely on testosterone to help them grow. Hormone therapy causes prostate cancer cells to die or to grow more slowly.
■ Orchiectomy: Another form of hormone therapy is called orchiectomy or (surgical castration) the surgeon removes the testicles, where most of the androgens (such as testosterone) are made. This causes most prostate cancers to stop growing or shrink for a time.
■ Chemotherapy: Chemo drugs are used to stop and kill the cancer.
■ Immunotherapy: Works by helping a patient’s own immune system fight back against cancer cells. It spurs a patient’s immune system to attack prostate cancer cells.
■ 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 the prostate cancer. Sometimes one singular modality will be enough.
CyberKnife for Prostate Cancer
That’s where the prostate cancer experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami can help.
They will walk you through all the different treatment options, and which would be the best for your particular needs. If you choose radiation therapy, they can explain why CyberKnife may be right for you compared to other types of radiation therapy. 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 unharmed.
With CyberKnife there is no cutting, incision, blood, catheters, anesthesia, or pain. Plus, there is little or no recovery time.
More than 2 decades of research and clinical experience show cure rates of more than 97% using CyberKnife for prostate cancer, according to Dr. Mark Pomper, board-certified radiation oncologist and medical director of CyberKnife Miami.
“We’re having less complications and our cure rate is as good or better than traditional radiation”, Dr. Pomper says on CyberKnife Miami’s YouTube channel.
“CyberKnife has been FDA approved for the treatment of all kinds of cancer since 2001 and was used at least a decade before that in clinical studies with great success,” he adds.
According to a 12-year study presented at the American Society for radiation oncology meeting last October, SBRT has a high success rate for long-term cancer control.
Prostate Cancer Treatment in Miami, FL
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.
We treat patients from across Florida, the United States, and other countries where CybeKnife technology isn’t available.
If you’re interested in finding out more about CyberKnife for prostate cancer, 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