While LDR Brachytherapy is the ideal treatment option for localized prostate cancer, virtually no one offers this treatment option anymore due to the more lucrative treatment options that are now available. LDR Brachytherapy is the most conformal radiation treatment for prostate cancer and is more conformal than proton beam radiation therapy (but yet a fraction of the cost). PCIA is the only practice of its kind that exclusive offers LDR Prostate Brachytherapy servicing the Metro Phoenix Region.This procedure is much more commonly performed in Canada where reimbursement is not an issue. For more information visit www.prostatecancerinstituteaz.com
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00:00 - The following portion of the Arizona Daily Mix is sponsored by Prostate Cancer Institute
00:07 of Arizona.
00:10 - We are seeing a rise in prostate cancer in men and here to tell us about how LDR,
00:14 prostate Brock therapy can help men get the treatment they need in the minimum downtime
00:18 and that is Dr. B of the Prostate Cancer Institute of Arizona.
00:21 How are you doing Dr. B?
00:23 - I'm doing great.
00:24 - So I love also to your part of our Live Well campaign which is so important to our
00:27 station but also it's very important too is men out there getting checked.
00:32 I know we always wait for of course Men's Health Month but you're saying let's get checked
00:37 now and this therapy that you can do can help people get back to a little normalcy in their
00:43 life.
00:44 - Exactly.
00:45 You know prostate cancer is the most common malignancy for men and it can be scary and
00:51 people are really worried about the potential impact it can have on their life, their sex
00:55 life, their ability to urinate, go to the bathroom and these can be quite devastating
01:01 and so we now have treatments such as the one I perform called the prostate seed implant
01:06 or LDR brachytherapy.
01:08 We'll just call it prostate seed implant.
01:10 Where you really can have minimal downtime.
01:14 The treatment's less than an hour, you go home the same day and you can actually go
01:19 to work the next day, you can actually still have sex the next day.
01:23 Really allows you to continue your life without any major impact.
01:27 - Yeah and again this procedure is something that's been around but kind of got pushed
01:32 to the side because of other treatments but you're bringing it back because you saw how
01:35 important it was to get men back into their regular life a little bit.
01:39 - Oh exactly.
01:40 This treatment is the most conformal radiation treatment for prostate cancer and now we actually
01:45 have some more modern advancements to it.
01:47 I can do what we call real time planning where right on the fly in the operating room I can
01:52 actually customize a treatment plan to that patient's specific anatomy.
01:58 That really allows for maximal precision and a great outcome.
02:02 - You said something very important there and that was each person's different so you
02:06 actually can help people differently.
02:08 So everybody who goes in there isn't gonna have the same type of treatment.
02:11 - Not at all.
02:12 I mean everyone's different.
02:13 It's really customized and specialized.
02:16 That's what we're really trying to do now in healthcare is really customize each patient's
02:21 care towards their specific problem.
02:24 - One thing you've also talked about is that men need to start talking about this to other
02:28 men to help them and that's a big thing to know in this community.
02:32 - Of course.
02:33 I think getting awareness and recognition is just that there's always an embarrassment
02:38 related to these potential devastating side effects that can happen such as impotence
02:44 and incontinence.
02:45 So it's very common to not want to talk about that.
02:48 - Let's talk a little about how the procedure works because it is almost like prepping for
02:53 a colonoscopy.
02:55 Then what happens?
02:56 What do people do?
02:57 - It's commonly performed at a surgery center or a hospital where you are asleep, luckily.
03:03 There's no cutting or needles.
03:04 What happens is we actually place needles through the perineal area, the taint area,
03:10 to get to the prostate while under ultrasound imaging.
03:14 I'm seeing the prostate the entire time under ultrasound imaging to allow me to implant
03:21 the seeds through these hollow needles.
03:23 So there's no stitches, there's no cutting, incisions, and that allows the patient to
03:28 be able to go home with minimal downtime.
03:33 - Like you said, very important, there's no cutting, no stitches or anything like that
03:36 and that's why this works.
03:37 The little needles, again, they're very little so you don't know what's going on there because
03:41 one, you're under, which is very important.
03:44 And then you said recovery time.
03:46 So do they need to stay in the hospital for a little bit longer or as soon as they're
03:49 done they can go right?
03:50 - As soon as they go home, they can go home the same day.
03:51 - And then just rest up and then back to work?
03:54 - Yeah.
03:55 I mean, everyone has different periods of recovery, but I've had some men go to work
03:59 the next day, some of them take a week off.
04:02 It's really up to them, but really most people are surprised at how little downtime there
04:08 is.
04:09 - Okay, let's go talk about who can get the treatment because that's very important on
04:13 who is actually able to go do this.
04:16 - Yeah, the majority of men with localized prostate cancer where prostate cancer is confined
04:20 to the prostate are typically candidates for this treatment.
04:23 - Wow.
04:24 - Yeah.
04:25 - So it's talking with your doctor, probably your urologist or whoever you're working with,
04:29 your cancer doctor, and then you will sit with them too, right?
04:32 - Of course.
04:33 I go through a thorough evaluation, explanation of the risks and benefits, and making sure
04:38 that they're aware of what's involved with this treatment and the potential side effects.
04:42 - Yeah.
04:43 Dr. B, this is all very important stuff, and it's something that we shouldn't be talking
04:46 about just during Men's Health Month.
04:48 It should be every day, and that's what you're there for, for people, aren't you?
04:52 - Yes.
04:53 Thank you for having me.
04:54 This is a part of it.
04:55 - Yeah.
04:56 Thank you, doctor, very much.
04:57 All right.
04:58 You want more information on, of course, the Prostate Cancer Institute of Arizona, you
04:59 can head over to our Live Well page right on aztv.com.
05:04 So thank you, doctor.
05:05 All right, after the break, find out how you can win tickets to a spring training game
05:10 when we come back.
05:15 The preceding portion of the Arizona Daily Mix was sponsored by Prostate Cancer Institute
05:20 of Arizona.
05:21 [silence]