Dec 17, 2008 6:46 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Prostate Cancer And Radiation Therapy
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Radiation treatment is an important tool in the arsenal to fight cancer, but it can sometimes be painful and traumatic. Now a revolutionary therapy called "Rapid Arc" is changing that. The treatment is faster, easier and more accurate than the traditional method.
Alvin, who doesn't want to be completely identified, was shocked when he was diagnosed with cancer, but his prognosis is excellent thanks to a new technology.
"They tell me I have stage one prostate cancer. I found out in June of this year," he said.
He's getting the latest in radiation therapy called Rapid Arc, which gives a full radiation treatment in seconds.
"I lay on the table for two minutes. It's fast. The machine goes around me one time, then reverse, and they come and get me," Alvin said.
"Some of these treatments take as much as 45 minutes. With this new rapid arc treatment, we can treat a prostate cancer patient in 75 seconds now," explained Dr. Lawrence B. Tena, radiation oncologist at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan.
Dr. Tena said St. Vincent's is the first in Manhattan to offer the treatment. It gives targeted radiation in a single 360 degree rotation around the patient - accurate, convenient and painless.
"It's very comfortable. They make it very comfortable. No pain," Alvin said.
With the new Rapid Arc procedure, doctors can pinpoint the cancerous cells more easily, reducing the amount of the body that's affected by the radiation.
"It avoids all the normal structures near the area that we want to treat," Dr. Tena said.
Donn Russell was successfully treated for cancer before Rapid Arc came out. He had a good result with traditional radiation therapy, but thinks the new faster approach is a good thing.
"This would be a plus for working men, middle-aged working men who get prostate cancer. They can actually work it out so they can go to a therapy session before they go to work or on their way to work or lunchtime," Russell said.
In addition to prostate cancer, the Rapid Arc treatment is also being used for cancers of the throat, head and neck, and brain.
Experts hope the technology will be able to be used for other illnesses in the future.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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