UPDATE: New procedure can shorten prostate cancer treatment

UPDATE:

Seveny–four–year–old Larry Bornschlegl is an avid outdoorsman.

He said five months ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“I had no indication at all that I had anything wrong with me,” Bornschlegl said.  “And then all of a sudden, here it came.  And it’s scary.”

Larry said after he went through 26 radiation treatments, his doctors told him they got it under control.

Each $1,200 treatment took more than just a toll on his bank account.

“I started getting tired,” he said.  “Quite tired.  Almost needing a nap every afternoon.  And I’m type A, as you can probably tell.  I’m a goer and a doer.”

Other side effects were diarrhea and frequent urination.

But Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center says they’re using another treatment method to alleviate that.

It’s called the SpaceOAR, an injectable gel that puts space between the prostate and the rectum, protecting the rectum from being overly radiated.

“Now we are able to deliver a much higher dose because the rectum is well protected,” said radiation oncologist Dr. Joseph Chiu.  “And since we’re able to deliver a much higher dose per treatment, we can shorten the course effectively.”

Dr. Chiu said that can shorten the course from 40 treatments to just five or six.

He said the patients he’s treated with it have had less toxicity and side effects compared to those who’ve gone through two months of low dose radiation.

“I think this is a breakthrough for external radiation for prostate cancer,” he said.

As it happens, the SpaceOAR did not work for Larry.  However, he said he still thinks it’s the future of radiation treatment.

“Dr. Chiu is one that’s proposing the gel and I believe it will work,” Bornschlegl said.  “It will work.  I was maybe a unique case.”

Dr. Chiu said he thinks short course radiation will become more popular nationwide and that the SpaceOAR is being researched for other radiation treatments, like cervical cancer.

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It’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and a local cancer treatment center says they’re the first to use a new treatment method they think is a breakthrough.

Radiation treatment can be exhausting, but Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center says they’re using a new method so it doesn’t take as long.

It’s called the SpaceOAR, an injectable gel that puts space between the prostate gland and the rectum.

With this, radiation oncologist Dr. Joseph Kam Chiu says they can deliver higher radiation doses to the prostate, reducing side effects like toxicity.  It also means patients don’t have to go through two or three months of treatment.

“Now we are able to deliver a much higher dose because the rectum is well protected,” Dr. Chiu says.  “And since we’re able to deliver a much higher dose per treatment, we can shorten the course effectively.

Dr. Chiu says this is a breakthrough for prostate cancer and says the SpaceOAR is being researched for other radiation treatments, like cervical cancer.