If you’re like any man who just received a prostate cancer diagnosis, you have a lot of questions about treatment, care, longevity and lifestyle.
At the CyberKnife Center of Miami, the premiere CyberKnife center in South Florida for treating prostate cancer with radiation, we answer these questions all day, every day. And we’re here for you too.
Here are the most common questions answered by Dr. Mark Pomper, the medical director of CyberKnife Miami and board-certified radiation oncologist.
How does CyberKnife Work?
CyberKnife is a cutting-edge radiation technology also known as stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT.
That makes it different from traditional radiation treatments because it continuously tracks prostate tumors in real-time during treatment. This means your tumor gets the maximum dose of radiation, but the healthy surrounding tissue remains virtually untouched.
“CyberKnife technology delivers very precise doses of radiation directly to the tumor site and it stays right on its target, even if the patient moves, the robots arm moves with the patient. That in turn greatly reduces the risk of causing damage to nearby healthy tissue and organs, which results in less risk of side effects,” explains Dr. Mark Pomper, radiation oncologist and medical director of CyberKnife Miami in a YouTube video.
Given the diagnosis, what are the chances of treatment success with CyberKnife?
CyberKnife alone can treat prostate cancer, especially if it’s low grade and localized to the prostate.
For early prostate cancers, the success rate with CyberKnife is 95%, which is about the same as men treated with radical prostatectomy, which is surgery to remove the prostate gland, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Years of mounting research is proving CyberKnife to be the gold standard for treating prostate cancer, and as more men learn about CyberKnife, it is becoming the number one treatment of choice,” says Dr. Pomper.
About 84% of prostate cancers are found in the early stages because of screening guidelines and screening tools. That means many men could benefit from CyberKnife treatment.
What are the benefits of CyberKnife?
Research shows patients who opt for CyberKnife have fewer short-and-long-term side effects than patients who choose surgery or other forms of radiation. That’s because of CyberKnife’s pinpoint precision.
Here are some distinct advantages:
- Treatments can be done in five radiation therapy sessions over 10 days compared to 42 over three months with other types of radiation treatments.
- CyberKnife has none of the risks that come with surgery because it’s noninvasive. There’s no cutting and no anesthesia.
- CyberKnife moves with the patient to make sure the tumor is the only thing targeted. And since the CyberKnife radiation beams are so precise the chances of side effects like impotence and incontinence are greatly reduced.
- If the cancer returns, it can be treated again.
What are the long- and short-term side effects of CyberKnife?
While many prostate cancer patients experience no side effects with CyberKnife, some may experience discomfort during or after treatment. This typically goes away in time or with medications.
“Most radiation side effects are minimal and last only a short time. Side effects can, however, sometimes be severe because of rectum or bladder wall exposure to radiation,” according to Accuray, the maker of CyberKnife.
Side effects include constipation, rectal bleeding, fecal urgency or incontinence, urinary frequency or incontinence, urgency or blood in the urine. Some patients also experience sexual disfunction.
And while there is no guarantee there won’t be long-term issues with CyberKnife, research shows side effects are no worse than with traditional radiation, according to Accuray, the maker of CyberKnife.
“Despite the higher dose rate associated with SBRT, multiple studies have validated that there are no worse side effects with CyberKnife SBRT than with traditional radiation,” Accuray says.
And in many cases, CyberKnife’s precision can significantly reduce the risk of sexual, urinary and bowel function side effects.
What are my options for treatment if the cancer returns?
According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, — regardless of treatment approach — prostate cancer will recur in between one-quarter and one-third of men. That includes men treated with either surgery or radiation.
Prostate cancer typically recurs in the prostate or the seminal vesicles (sacs next to the prostate where semen is stored.) It may also spread through the pelvic lymph nodes to the rectum or pelvic wall. And it can also metastasize to the bones or other organs.
“CyberKnife radiation therapy is an excellent tool to treat recurrent prostate cancer or cancer of any kind,” says Dr. Pomper.
Prostate cancer recurrence is treatable and may even be curable, and survival rates remains high. At least 94% of patients live at least 15 years after their original diagnoses.
Men who continue to battle prostate cancer for years can manage the disease and its symptoms with CyberKnife, according to Dr. Pomper.
For these men, prostate cancer becomes similar to managing long-term diseases like diabetes or heart disease.
CyberKnife can be particularly helpful to treat bone pain associated with metastatic prostate cancer, and it can even be used in conjunction with hormone treatment and even after surgery.
CyberKnife Treatment for Prostate Cancer in South Florida
CyberKnife Miami opened its doors nearly 25 years ago, and has one of the most experienced teams worldwide, and certainly in the South Florida area because we’ve been treating patients the longest. That’s also the reason we are not afraid of taking on the toughest cases, and patients often come to us from other cancer centers who have told them nothing more can be done for you. At CyberKnife Miami we believe almost always something more can be done and at the very least it’s worth a try.
“If your doctor tells you nothing more can be done or CyberKnife is not for you, go to a CyberKnife center and get a second opinion. Maybe it’s not the best treatment for you, but most of the time it is. CyberKnife is the most effective, safest and quickest way to treat prostate cancer so you can put it behind you and get on with your life,” Dr. Pomper advises.
If you are interested in learning more about CyberKnife Miami for prostate cancer, call us at 305-279-2900 or right now you can go to our website.