It’s no secret that the best chance to successfully beat prostate cancer is to catch it early and treat it right when it’s caught. About 84% of prostate cancers are found in the early stages. That’s when the cancer is localized to the prostate or has just spread to nearby organs, according to cancer.net. The five-year survival rate for these types of prostate cancers is excellent with treatment.
As prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body the five-year survival rate drops significantly to 31%.
“If you have prostate cancer, you don’t want to wonder everyday if it’s going to spread,” says Dr. Mark Pomper, board certified radiation oncologist and medical director of the CyberKnife Center of Miami, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment center that uses the most precise form of radiation called stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT to treat cancer.
Dr. Pomper adds, “Think of prostate cancer as a ticking bomb. It doesn’t always follow the expected path, so if you have the chance to kill the cancer, we believe you should treat it, so the cancer doesn’t kill you.”
Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Treatment
The experts at CyberKnife Miami want you to know you have choices when it comes to your treatment for prostate cancer. Treatment options often depend on the type of cancer, whether it has spread, and your overall health.
Treatments can include surgery, radiation or systemic treatments like chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or immunotherapy.
In early-stage prostate cancer often patients may only need one form of treatment like surgery or radiation.
However, since the prostate is close to several vital organs, traditional treatment for prostate cancer like surgery can be life-altering. CyberKnife has some distinct advantages over other modalities because it can destroy prostate tumors while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue virtually unharmed.
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- It is noninvasive.
- There is no anesthesia or cutting.
- Clinical experience shows most patients do well with CyberKnife treatment, with cure rates of more than 98% for more than a decade.
- It doesn’t come with the risks of surgery like infection and long periods of downtime.
- CyberKnife treatments can be done in five therapy sessions over 10 days instead of 42 over three months with other types of radiation treatments.
- The CyberKnife radiation beams, which target and destroy the tumor, are exceedingly precise.
- There is less risk of side effects including impotence and incontinence.
“CyberKnife has few side effects. Its pinpoint radiation beams target only the prostate, so we can give a much higher dose with a fewer treatments, leaving healthy surrounding tissue unharmed. There is over 30 years of published studies to support its safety and effectiveness,” says Dr. Pomper.
Later-Stage Prostate Cancer Treatment
As prostate cancer progresses combination treatment can be given to patients – for instance radiation, like that offered by CyberKnife Miami, along with hormone therapy. This combination kills the cancer and stops it from spreading.
“Clinical trials show a benefit in patients who receive hormonal treatment in combination with external beam radiation,” states the Prostate Cancer Foundation website.
Radiation is sometimes also used after a radical prostatectomy – or surgery to remove the prostate.
For metastatic prostate cancer, doctors can also use a combination of treatments, which can include bone-modifying medications, chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
CyberKnife can be particularly helpful to treat and eliminate or ease bone pain associated with metastatic prostate cancer.
However, again – and it bears repeating — with early detection and early intervention, a patient may just need one form of treatment.
CyberKnife Miami for Prostate Cancer Treatment
At CyberKnife Miami, we have successfully treated hundreds of prostate cancer patients, not just from South Florida but from all over the U.S. and even the world.
There are many places where CyberKnife is not available. Or even if it is, many patients still travel to our cancer center here in Miami because we are among the most experienced team worldwide. We’ve been doing this since our CyberKnife Center was opened in 2003, which means we have been doing treatments for a long time, plus it’s what we do all day, every day and as a result we get excellent results for our patients.
When you’re dealing with cancer you want the top cancer doctors and medical team working with you, and that’s what we do. We team up with you and your family.
Our goal is to get you treated and cancer free as quickly, effectively, and easily as possible and we promise to help you reach that goal.
We partner with you every step of the way.
You will be as impressed with our team as you will be with CyberKnife technology.
Our biggest compliment from patients is, not just how easy the treatment was, but how they were treated at CyberKnife Miami by our compassionate, caring, and knowledgeable team.
We treat you with the respect and dignity all patients deserve, should have, and often don’t get. You will not get the run around here. We take the time you need to understand the treatment so you’re as informed as possible, so you are comfortable and confident before, during and after treatment. We answer the phone, return calls and help you with every aspect of your treatment plan.
To find out if you are a candidate call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our prostate cancer website now for more information.