Cyberknife

Hi Zbasha. I can tell you that my father-in-law just had a combination of standard external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and Cyberknife treatment this summer. So far, so good - he has had minimal side effects and his first PSA test came back even better than anticipated. This article looks at research on Cyberknife treatment and five year results: https://www.itnonline.com/content/cyberknife-system-provides-excellent-prostate-cancer-survival-rates-five-or-fewer-sessions. This even more recent article has findings that "suggest that stereotactic body radiotherapy is associated with a long-term clinical outcomes profile—both in terms of toxic events and disease control—that is comparable with other, more widely used treatments for low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer:" https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2723641. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. Best, Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)

, sharing some comments from the Facebook community here:

"Zbasha, from some of the past comments here, I became a big fan of Proton Therapy. (For the record the only treatment offered to me 6 1/2 years ago was a prostatectomy). But two months ago, the head of cancer radiation in our area, Dr. James Wurzer, talked to our support group on the pros and cons of CyberKnife and Proton Therapy. His main point was that the two organs that move the most in our bodies are the bladder and colon since the amount of urine and fecal matter in them cause that movement. His point was that X-ray radiation therapy can compensate for that movement but Proton Therapy can’t. And what made this totally believable for me was that he said the University of Pennsylvania, which is where I go for all my major medical treatments and it has both Proton and conventional radiation, has virtually stopped using Proton Therapy for prostate cancer for that reason. Len Smith ProstateCancer Moderator PS - At a previous talk, Dr. Wurzer discussed the side effects of CyberKnife treatment. From what he said, they are about the same as for Proton Therapy."

"I cannot speak for this specific method. I had a failed surgery and then I had IMRT with calypso. I am not sure of the exact difference, but this sounds like IMRT and Calypso all in one machine. I'm only out of radiation about 9 days ago. So, I cannot even discuss my success yet.
At this point I'm not sure I would say anything "cures" prostate cancer, unless you get it removed before it spreads. Even if you have it removed, if a microcell has implanted itself somewhere, you could have a reoccurrence from any location in your body.
I think it is important that people do not get the wrong impressions. How many people have chosen (RP) surgery and then gotten upset, because they were impotent or incontinent; for what ever length of time. There are risks."

And here's the link to the Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/prostatecancerdotnet/posts/819653698449498?.

Best,
Nina, ProstateCancer.net Team

I had the external beam radiation in 2018 and like you had a reoccurrence following surgery in 2013. I asked about the differences between Proton and Radiation. At the time it was suggested the jury was out due to the newness of the treatment protocol and the fact that there was no real extended track record of success or failure.

That said a year later Hartford Hospital (where I had been treated with surgery and radiation) has joined up with Yale New Haven to put in the first proton treatment facility in Connecticut. The new facility will be located between Hartford and New Haven and will serve both medical centers. Certainly good to know things are changing ...
Dennis (ProstateCancer.net Team)