If you’re a prostate cancer patient and you’ve decided to treat your disease with radiation, you’ve made the first smart choice in your treatment plan.
However, two other things would make your choice even smarter, according to the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami, the premiere radiation center for cancer treatment in South Florida.
First — make sure you choose CyberKnife — a highly targeted form of stereotactic radiosurgery or SRS – as the form of radiation you’ve picked to treat your prostate cancer. If you have, that’s the right move.
CyberKnife’s missile guidance technology enables the so called Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) to track a tumor’s movement in real time. The technology delivers radiation directly to the tumor, while leaving healthy surrounding tissue unharmed. With CyberKnife, patients need a much shorter course of treatment than with traditional radiation because SRS is targeted radiation.
However, there is a second thing you should ask your doctor: “Will you be using SpaceOAR Hydrogel during my treatment?”
“SpaceOAR Hydrogel is a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based, absorbable hydrogel that is injected between the prostate and rectum to create space, reducing the radiation dose to the rectum during prostate cancer radiation therapy and potentially minimizing side effects,” according to CyberKnife Miami.
SpaceOAR Hydrogel is a Must during Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment
The experts at CyberKnife Miami believe SpaceOAR Hydrogel makes a huge difference for prostate cancer patients’ treatment and recovery.
SpaceOAR Hydrogel is implanted prior to radiation treatments during a simple outpatient procedure, and it is naturally absorbed by the body over about a six-month period.
“SpaceOAR Hydrogel works by temporarily creating space between the prostate and the rectum during the course of your radiation treatment. This small amount of space may help reduce radiation exposure to the rectum, potentially decreasing damaging side effects,” according to the SpaceOAR’s website.
In clinical trials, patients who were given SpaceOAR Hydrogel during treatment experienced fewer declines in bowel, urinary and sexual functions compared to patients who didn’t receive the gel.
Boston Scientific, the maker of SpaceOAR, says the gel can make a big difference for prostate cancer patients:
- “At 3 years, grade 1 rectal toxicity was decreased by 75% in patients treated with SpaceOAR Hydrogel versus the control group,” the SpaceOAR website says.
- SpaceOar patients who were able to have baseline erections were 67% more likely to retain erectile function for three years.
- SpaceOar also reduced “likelihood of more serious changes in urinary quality of life by 60%” compared to the control group.
More than 50,000 patients worldwide have received SpaceOAR Hydrogel during their treatment for prostate cancer. Plus, SpaceOAR Hydrogel is reimbursed by Medicare and many private insurers as well.
CyberKnife for Prostate Cancer
CyberKnife has many benefits for prostate cancer treatment when compared to traditional radiation. These include:
- Excellent long-term cancer control.
- A non-surgical and non-invasive treatment.
- Fewer treatments over a shorter time frame.
- Lower incidence of sexual, urinary and bowel function side effects.
- Patients continue normal activities during and after treatment.
Plus, the five-year disease-free survival rates for treatment of prostate cancer with CyberKnife are 97%-99% for low-risk patients. That’s superior to the 92%-94% with conventional radiation. The disease-free survival rates for intermediate-risk patients using CyberKnife is equal to or higher than conventional radiation.
At 12 years following treatment with CyberKnife, the disease-free rates were 93% for low-risk patients, which is better than the 81%-85% with conventional radiation.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Miami
CyberKnife Miami has treated thousands of prostate cancer patients with excellent results.
When combining CyberKnife with SpaceOAR, our patients tend to see fewer long-and-short-term side effects. Our mission at CyberKnife Miami is to get patients back to their normal life, cancer free with no long-term side effects.
If you would like to find out more about prostate cancer treatment with CyberKnife, call our team at 305-279-2900 or go to our prostate cancer website now.