www.coloradocyberknife.com The first published five-year outcomes on low risk prostate cancer patients treated with the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System. The multi-center study, published in the January 10, 2011 issue of Radiation Oncology, found that 93 percent of patients had no recurrence of their cancer at a median follow-up of five years, a rate that compares favorably to results obtained with other treatment modalities, including surgery and conventional radiation therapy. “As a non-invasive treatment option completed in just five visits, stereotactic radiotherapy with the CyberKnife System offers patients the benefits of more rapid recovery, reduced travel costs and less time off work, allowing them to return to their normal, daily routines almost immediately as compared with the standard nine-week course of radiotherapy,” said Christopher King, MD, an author on the study who is now an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Urology at the UCLA School of Medicine. “In addition, because CyberKnife radiosurgery costs less than conventional radiation and avoids the anesthesia and hospital stay associated with surgery, our national health care system benefits from reduced health care costs.”

Dr. David Samadi speaks at Rambam Health Care Campus’ second annual Rambam Summit. Dr. Samadi performed Rambam’s very first robotic prostatectomy procedure using his unique SMART (Samadi Modified Advanced Robotic Technique) surgery technique in December of 2010 as part of a global initiative to spread knowledge of prostate cancer and robotic treatment options.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men with 215000 new cases reported each year in the US alone. The alternative to traditional surgery is davinci Robotic Prostatectomy. Dr. Samadi discusses his experience with robotic surgery and the advantages and popularity of the procedure. He discusses the particulars of the procedure with smaller incisions and increased magnification. The best candidate for the surgery is early stage, organ-confined cancer patient. The cure rate is very high and recovery is smooth with experienced surgeons like himself.

Related articles by Cancer Treatment Pro

• Dr Crippen: On the problem with prostate cancer screening (guardian.co.uk)
• Prostate cancer surgeons ‘feel’ with their eyes (scienceblog.com)
• Robots vs. erections: Biased choices in prostate cancer surgery (trueslant.com)

The most popular prostate cancer surgery is robotic keyhole surgery, also called a laparoscopic surgery. This surgery has been performed on thousands of men. It has become popular because it is minimally invasive – not requiring large incisions and uses the da Vinci robotics system. Doctors use robotic arms and special instruments while performing the surgery. In fact, keyhole surgery uses a small incision and that’s why it’s called a keyhole surgery. There are other types of keyhole surgeries on other parts of the body as well.

It has become the prostate cancer surgery of choice for many because of the smaller incision meaning a day less in the hospital and a shorter recovery time.

Now a new study involving 9000 men with prostate cancer show there are risks that hadn’t been addressed before. Some with traditional prostate surgery and some with robotic keyhole surgery.

The men who had the robotic keyhole surgery rather than the traditional surgery were more likely to report complications in the first 30 days after their surgery. In addition, later after about 18 months or so they reported more urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. This comes as a surprise to many. However, anyone considering this surgery must get all the facts.

If you are considering the surgery, make sure to discuss all the risks and complications with your prostate cancer doctor and surgeon before you have this surgery. Make sure to ask your doctor about this study also.

One has to be careful that this surgery isn’t hyped up from advertisements and from others who aren’t aware of all the risks. Make sure to also to ask your doctor or surgeon; whoever is performing your surgery, how many of these surgeries they have done. Ask how many of their patients had increased incontinence and/or impotence or erectile dysfunction following the surgery in the first 30 days and even 18 months later. Maybe some patients or the doctor didn’t recognize the new health problems were directly related to the keyhole surgery.

Alternatives to the risks of robotic keyhole surgery to remove a cancerous prostate are radiation treatment or therapy or watchful waiting. Radiation therapy comes with its own problems. Many choose watchful waiting and live long lives free of problems caused by surgery. Survival rates are good. Get two or three opinions if you’ve been diagnosed. You may get different opinions from different doctors.

Generally, prostate cancer is slow growing but you need to check with your doctor and find out exactly what type you have and if it’s slow or fast-growing. Find out everything you can about prostate cancer and traditional and alternative treatment options before making any decisions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Hecker

Related articles by Cancer Treatment Pro

• Robotic Prostate Surgery May Mean Big Trade-Off (abcnews.go.com)
• Op-Ed: Robot-assisted Surgery – The Leading Treatment for Prostate Cancer (thehealthcareblog.com)
• Robotic Prostate Surgery May Mean Big Trade-Off (usnews.com)
• ‘Active surveillance’ of some prostate cancers safe: Study (healthzone.ca)
• Minimally invasive prostate cancer surgery: Not-so-minimal risk? (dailyfinance.com)
• Robotic prostate surgery may mean big trade-off (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Robotic prostate surgery comes with trade-off (msnbc.msn.com)
• Robotic prostate surgery may mean impotence (ctv.ca)
• Robotic Surgery for Prostate Cancer – Are the Surgeons Getting Enough Training (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)