Prostate Cancer: Our Treatment Options
Prostate Cancer: Our Treatment Options In Phoenix
In the heart of the Southwest, you’ll find the Phoenix CyberKnife and Radiation Oncology Center, a stereotactic radiation treatment center of excellence. Our board certified radiation oncologists are internationally recognized leaders in advanced radiotherapy technology and have introduced state-of-the-art therapies to the Valley. At this center, you’ll find several effective options for treating your prostate cancer, including CyberKnife, external radiation, and Brachytherapy. Our cancer experts will work with your medical team to develop the best treatment options for you.
Prostate Tumors Treatment
Once you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your medical team of specialists will work together to recommend the best treatment plan. They will find answers to the following questions relating to your case to help them determine treatment:
- What stage is your prostate cancer?
- What is your PSA level now?
- How old are you?
- How is your overall health, or strength?
- How long are you expected to live?
- What is the chance that cancer may recur?
- What are your personal preferences relating to treatment?
After these questions have been answered by your Phoenix care team and discussed with you, they will recommend your best prostate cancer treatment options which may include:
- Watchful waiting or active surveillance - to see if the tumor grows or PSA levels increase
- Surgery - removing the entire prostate gland plus some of the surrounding tissue, including the seminal vesicles.
- Radiation therapy - external beam such as CyberKnife or internal radiation like brachytherapy
- Cryotherapy- Cryosurgery where doctors use of very cold substances such as liquid nitrogen to freeze and remove cancerous cells in the prostate.
- Hormone therapy - to reduce the levels of testosterone and DHT that cause prostate cancer cells to grow.
- Chemotherapy - using a combination of drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancerous cells
- Vaccine treatment - to boost your immune system and help it attack cancerous cells
- Bone-directed treatment - when the cancer has spread to the bones, this treatment can control growth and relieve pain
Radiation Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer
By far, the most common type of prostate cancer are adenocarcinomas. They account for 90% of all prostate cancers. While prostate cancer is still the deadliest type of cancer for men, adenocarcinomas are 99% curable when caught early, before the cancer spreads to other parts of the body. Prostate cancer treatment can involve surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Or, your doctor may decide to delay any treatment, based on the age and type of cancer that you have. Phoenix CyberKnife is the premier cancer treatment center for many types of radiation therapy, offering a variety of options.
The radiation oncologists at Phoenix CyberKnife are uniquely qualified and experienced in selecting the best prostate cancer treatment options for you. We are also the only comprehensive radiation oncology center in Phoenix that offers all of the most advanced, non-surgical treatment options from one convenient center, including: CyberKnife, conventional IMRT, IGRT, HDR brachytherapy, hyperthermia and more. When it comes to treating your prostate cancer with radiation therapy, Phoenix Cyberknife and Radiation Oncology Center is your expert choice. With all of these treatment types from which to choose, you can be sure you are getting the best and most sophisticated treatment options available for your unique needs.
- CyberKnife (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, or SBRT) - The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is one of the most effective and most recommended treatments for prostate cancer. This stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) administers high doses of radiation directly to your prostate gland to reduce PSA levels and kill cancerous cells. CyberKnife can be used as an alternative to surgery, minimizing surgical risks such as erectile dysfunction. For advanced prostate cancer stages, your doctor may recommend using CyberKnife with external beam radiation or other cancer treatments. Precision is key for treating the prostate due to the possible radiation or surgical damage to the bladder, urethra, rectum, or sensitive nerve bundles which can cause side effects like erectile dysfunction or incontinence. With the precision of CyberKnife, the radiation beams are focused only on the cancerous cells, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue and nerve bundles unharmed. CyberKnife also overcomes a second challenge in the treatment of prostate cancer. The prostate gland moves unexpectedly throughout the course of treatment. The CyberKnife System can constantly track and automatically correct for the movement of the prostate and the tumor in real time. This precision is unmatched by any other prostate cancer treatment method and ensures that radiation continually hits only the intended target without interruption. The CyberKnife process also utilizes four or five tiny slivers of gold (called fiducials) that are inserted into your prostate to determine its exact location throughout treatments. Using the software and imaging systems,these help guide the CyberKnife system as your tumor moves. CyberKnife treatments are also more convenient and comfortable that other treatments. You will receive your short, daily treatments in our outpatient cancer center, lying on a comfortable treatment couch, for only one to five days. Traditional radiation treatments can last daily for 25 - 45 days. There’s no surgery and no recovery time. Most patients are back to their regular routine within a few hours. CyberKnife provides prostate cancer patients with better outcomes, fewer side effects, more cost-effective treatment, and a convenient treatment schedule.
- Traditional External Beam Radiation Therapies
- Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) for Prostate Cancer - Phoenix Cyberknife and Radiation Oncology Center houses the most advanced equipment including image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) which can track and capture your tumor using high-resolution, three-dimensional images. IGRT is one of the best advancements developed for the gantry designed linear accelerators. Due to gas, and the filling of the bladder and bowels, the prostate can move slightly during treatment. IGRT allows our prostate cancer experts to view and compensate for any prostate movement during treatment, ensuring enhanced accuracy. IGRT provides another tool for our doctors to treat tumors that move with extreme precision.
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for Prostate Cancer- At our center, we determine the best method of treatment given each unique situation. Our prostate cancer experts have compared IMRT to standard or conventional radiation therapy. Due to the increased accuracy of IMRT our doctors can deliver a higher dose of radiation and spare the surrounding tissues of the bowel, bladder, and sensitive nerve bundles. IMRT can also be used if a patient has a returning cancer. Even with prior radiation, IMRT may be a promising option.
- RapidArc Radiotherapy Technology for Prostate Cancer - With RapidArc Prostate Cancer Treatment, we have combined and enhanced both the IGRT and IMRT, to make this treatment much more precise, giving higher more effective doses, in a shortened treatment time. Patients will still undergo numerous treatments, but each treatment may be shortened from 20 to 30 minutes each to just three to five minutes. Unlike traditional IMRT that requires multiple rotations around the patient or makes repeated stops and starts to treat the tumor from different angles, this volumetric arc therapy delivers precice 3-D doses with a single 360° rotation of the machine. It uses your treatment planning algorithm to simultaneously change the rotation speed, the shape of the treatment aperture, and the delivery dose rate. The shape and position of the tumor are determined from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) diagnostic studies. This permits improved dose sculpturing over 3-D conformal radiation therapy.
- 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy (3-D CRT) for Prostate Cancer - This type of radiotherapy uses 3D images to plan treatment and to deliver a dose of radiation that projects at the best angles for your tumor, avoiding surrounding healthy structures. Usually CT and/or MRI images are used for mapping out the radiation plan. Higher doses of radiation can be sent to cancer cells while much lower doses are received by the healthy tissue. This technology has allowed great improvements in safely treating head and neck tumors to minimize exposure to the spine, eyes, and other important structures.
- Internal Radiation Therapies
- High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR) - This extremely precise radiation therapy destroys prostate cancer. It uses an intense source of radiation delivered through temporarily-placed applicators implanted into the tumor site. It is delivered internally via a computer-controlled machine in typically in two to ten convenient treatments. It is pain-free and minimizes the risk of common side effects. The radiation is delivered into the applicators through a wire or cable inserted into a catheter and then removed between treatments. Phoenix CyberKnife’s radiation oncologists can vary the position of the wire and the length the radiation is administered to satisfy the shape and need of the cancer. In Interstitial HDR Brachytherapy, often used for prostate cancer, the radiation is delivered directly into tissue.
- Low Dose Rate Brachytherapy (LDR) - This radiation therapy is similar to its HDR counterpart, except it differs in its treatment delivery and length of treatment. With LDR Brachytherapy, 50 to 100 radioactive ‘seeds’ are implanted permanently into the cancerous tissue and radiation is then delivered to the infected area slowly over the following month or so as the cancerous cells die. Once the seeds emit the radiation, they, too, fade away. To effectively and safely place the seeds, Phoenix CyberKnife’s radiation oncologists use a special planning system which uses transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images to help design and monitor the intended placement of seeds. This one-time treatment may be used to treat a variety of cancers, including cervical, esophageal, head and neck and lung, but it is most often used to treat prostate cancer.
- Hyperthermia (Thermal therapy or Thermotherapy) - This type of therapy is always used in conjunction with another type, usually radiation or chemotherapy. It focuses on killing cancerous cells by exposing them to extremely high temperatures. Research has proven that this can kill the cancer, even sometimes cells that radiation isn’t reaching, without harming healthy tissues. Hyperthermia may also make some cancer cells more susceptible to destruction from radiation. When hyperthermia and radiation are prescribed together, they are usually given within an hour of each other. Hyperthermia can also enhance the effects of certain anticancer drugs. Ask our Phoenix CyberKnife radiation experts about the different types of hyperthermia currently available for your treatment.
Call Today For A Free Phone Consultation!
With so many treatment options available to you at Phoenix CyberKnife and Radiation Oncology Center, we want to make sure you understand your options. Contact us today at (602) 441-3845 for a free consultation and get the answers you need right now. Or, with our convenient online message form, you can send your questions and await a reply from one of our board certified radiation oncologists within 24 hours. With early treatment imperative for a prostate cancer cure, you don’t want to wait to see our cancer experts. Let us help you untangle any confusion and develop a treatment plan that will fit your specific needs, based on your cancer development and personal preferences. Our thoughtful and professional staff members look forward to caring for you soon.
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