Robotic Surgery
Within the last 60 days a prominent news magazine featured “Robotic Surgery for Prostate Cancer”. Since I have had at least five surgeries in my life and didn’t like any of them, it seems to me that surgery, be it Robotic or by any means involves invasive cutting of the flesh to excise, repair, and hopefully return the patient to a full recovery.
Unfortunately, any surgery in the difficult prostate gland area seems often fraught with disappointment.
So, it seems to be a “no-brainer” to select the Proton Treatment option when results are equal to or better than any surgical approach or for that matter any other “radiation” approach with (in my personal experience six and one-half years ago), a substantially better quality of life.
So get a second opinion from Loma Linda’s leading edge experts (Proton Referral Office: 1-800-496-4966) or the folks at the Northeast Proton Center (MGH / Harvard) Dr. Zietman, the Midwest Radio Therapy Center in Bloomington, and within two months the new Proton center at M.D. Anderson in Houston, Dr. James Cox. Very soon we will have Shands Cancer on-line in Jacksonville, Florida with the same Proton capability.
Jim Tuggey
Comment by Jay Yew, M.D.
I’m glad you have had a successful outcome with your proton therapy. It’s true that the consequences of surgery can be very distressing. However, the converse is often also true. While cancer cure is the number 1 priority, there are now some very real benefits to prostate surgery. Many men, in addition to having cancer, also have bothersome urination (slow, wake up at night, hesitancy, etc..). These symptoms invariably get MUCH better following da Vinci robotic Prostatectomy (dVP). It’s something to consider when weighing options. These operations are being done at Loma Linda as well as where I did my fellowship training in urologic oncology and robotic surgery (City of Hope). I’d ask Loma Linda for more information about robotic surgery.
Posted on August 7, 2006 at 4:58 pm