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 New York (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- This year alone, more than 186,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and every 19 minutes a man dies from it. For some men, surgery is not the answer, but now there's a new machine that kills the cancer faster and with more accuracy than ever before.
Todd Tilton is getting a new targeted radiation treatment to kill the prostate cancer growing inside him. In 90 seconds, Tilton's entire treatment for the day will be done!
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"By giving faster treatment -- a more accurate treatment -- based on the image guidance that we're able to do, we are able to keep the radiation away from normal tissues," Shawn Zimberg, M.D., a radiation oncologist at the Advanced Radiation Centers of New York told Ivanhoe.
Dr. Zimberg placed several gold markers inside Tilton's prostate to help guide the lasers.
"Those markers serve as a beacon for the precise, exact location of the prostate," he explained
 Technicians line up the markers and turn on the radiation. The beams continually adjust to the 3-D anatomy and avoid normal tissues.
"With RapidArc, what we're able to do is treat a patient in one single rotation, as opposed to multiple beams that can also be injuring the other tissue," Dr. Zimberg said.
"I'm getting it more concentrated so they can give me less and in this case, less is better," Tilton added.
Radiation time is cut from up to 20 minutes to just a minute-and-a-half, leaving Tilton more time to do what he really loves: sailing. For this sailor, this new targeted radiation treatment was the only option he felt he had. Surgery, with its risks of incontinence, was too high.
Tilton is in his first few weeks of radiation. He gets it five times a week for nine weeks. He's saved more than 24 hours at the doc's office, meaning the more time he has on the water.
 "It's good to be alive," Tilton exclaimed.
RapidArc is being used in 10 centers across the United States and by this time next year, it is estimated that there will be a thousand. RapidArc is also being used for cancers in the head and neck and will soon be adapted for breast and lung cancers. Side effects are rare using this technique, but could include pain while urinating and diarrhea.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Advanced Radiation Centers of New York
http://www.advancedradiationcenters.com
Varian Medical Systems
(800) 700-6882
http://www.varian.com
To read Ivanhoe's full-length interview with Dr. Zimberg, click here.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Lindsay Braun at lbraun@ivanhoe.com.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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