Prostate program

The doctors’ choice for treating prostate cancer.

Your fears about prostate cancer can be put to rest, thanks to our state-of-the-art Prostate Health Center in our Radiation Oncology Center (ROC). Here, you’ll find the latest in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment:

• Prostate cancer screening and early detection
• State-of-the-art IMRT treatment and technology
• Prostate removal when necessary

If you are over 50, we strongly recommend an annual prostate exam. You may be asymptomatic. But if any of the following are apparent, please contact us:

• Weak or stop-and-go urination
• Frequent awakening at night with the urge to urinate
• Painful or frequent urination
• Sensation of incomplete urination

Each year, roughly 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer are reported, and approximately 30,000 men die from it. Also, far more men than necessary experience complications and side effects from their treatment. But there is hope... on both counts.

Our radiation oncologists treat prostate cancer more effectively and safely than ever before using today’s most advanced methods. Patients not only can avoid radical prostatectomy (scarring, infection risk, recovery time, discomfort, erectile dysfunction) but can also avoid the bowel difficulties, urinary incontinence and side effects commonly associated with “conventional” radiation therapy.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a state-of-the-art tool. IMRT modulates the shape and intensity of the radiation beam precisely to the tumor’s three-dimensional shape. The shape and location of the cancer are mapped with CT in just a few minutes. Then, IMRT uses that highly accurate image data to deliver doses to the tumor that are higher than conventional radiation therapy while much lower to the bladder and rectum. It’s an excellent alternative for patients who wish to avoid surgery. Curative doses are delivered without typical side effects like rectal bleeding and diarrhea. In fact, studies have shown that IMRT reduces complications by 80%.