Patient Testimonial

• Bill Jacques

Prostate Cancer

Proven treatment close to home

Approximately 250 prostate cancers are diagnosed and/or treated on Cape Cod each year. The good news is that treatments available for prostate cancer offer a high likelihood of cure, if the cancer is detected early enough. Cape Cod Healthcare provides world-class treatment options close to home, that help men feel more in control.

Early detection involves a quick PSA blood test and exam every year starting at age 50. If PSA levels are elevated or a node is detected, a patient is referred to a urologist for further testing, such as a biopsy, to confirm a diagnosis. A patient’s options – from surgery to radiation – depend on the tumor’s characteristics and the patient’s age and health. Each therapy has a role and the patient and physician can make a decision about which is appropriate.

Cape Cod Healthcare Radiation Oncologist Robert McAnaw, MD, is a pioneer in Brachytherapy, a form of radiation that can spare normal surrounding tissues while delivering a higher radiation dose to the tumor. The procedure is available at the Davenport-Mugar Cancer Center at Cape Cod Hospital.

If surgery (prostatectomy) is the chosen treatment path, there is no better place to have it than Cape Cod Hospital. If the cancer is confined to the prostate, there is a good chance of a cure by removing the prostate. If it has spread, more aggressive treatment is needed.

Over 90% of men who undergo the surgery at an early stage are cured of cancer. The surgery has been refined and a nerve-sparing prostatectomy is now performed. The majority of men who receive this surgery report no incontinence, a previous side effect.

If traditional external beam radiation is called for, it can also be done right here at the Davenport-Mugar Cancer Center, and at the Clark Cancer Center at Falmouth Hospital, using the latest, most precise equipment.