Prostate Cancer Treatments

Treatments at Mount Sinai South Nassau

Not every hospital offers a full range of treatment options for “localized” prostate cancer, or cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate gland. But at Mount Sinai South Nassau, we’re experienced in several types of prostate cancer care. We’ll evaluate your condition, provide you with as much information as possible, and help you decide which treatment option is best for you.

Our experienced team of prostate cancer specialists offers several types of care: “watchful waiting,” radiation treatments and surgical treatments:

Watchful waiting, or active surveillance, can help men to delay or even avoid surgery for prostate cancer. Watchful waiting involves creating a plan with your physician to track the cancer over time using regular office exams, PSA testing and sometimes, scheduled biopsies. Watchful waiting can be an option if you have early-stage prostate cancer, particularly with low-grade tumors when only a small amount of cancer is in the biopsy specimen. Older patients and those with serious medical problems may also be good candidates for this option. If there is evidence of cancer growth later, we’ll talk with you about whether surgery is needed.

Radical prostatectomy is a type of surgery to remove the entire prostate gland and nearby tissues. But at South Nassau, our patients have a choice besides traditional surgery. We’re experienced in performing this procedure using computer-guided equipment, the daVinci^® Surgical System, which can reduce the possibility of side effects and improve recovery time. Radical prostatectomy may be performed without causing damage to the nerves needed for an erection. However, nerve-sparing surgery is not always possible. Sometimes lymph nodes in the pelvic area are also removed. Possible side effects can include incontinence (inability to control urination) and impotence (inability to achieve erection).

Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by using radiation. At South Nassau, we also have options for how best to deliver this radiation. We’re experienced in several types of treatment to kill cancer cells. You might receive one of these therapies or a combination:

In standard external beam radiation therapy, we use highly complex computer software to aim a beam of radiation at the cancer. This is so you can avoid the need for traditional surgery. And our computer-guided technology gives our surgeons pinpoint accuracy, so we can better protect healthy tissue around it. Radiation therapy is usually delivered in an outpatient setting over 28-45 treatments. Treatment is painless, though some men experience side effects such as diarrhea, urinary symptoms and dry skin.
Brachytherapy involves implanting radioactive seeds in the prostate using a needle, usually performed in the operating room.
For men with high-risk prostate cancer, we might also add hormone therapy to standard radiation therapy.

Novalis Tx™ radiosurgery with SmartArc™ technology is a noninvasive surgical procedure that provides pinpoint accuracy in the treatment of a wide range of malignancies, including prostate cancer and other potentially debilitating conditions, without harming nearby healthy tissue. The Novalis Tx uses extremely precise targeting to minimize radiation damage to normal tissue. Its beam is shaped to match the tumor itself and evenly distribute the radiation dose across the entire tumor at once. The Novalis Tx has the shortest treatment time available, 5 treatment sessions, and is generally a painless procedure that is performed on an outpatient basis. Please speak to your oncologist to find out if you are a candidate for Novalis Tx radiosurgery. For more information about Novalis, please click here or call (516) 632-3360.

To connect with the prostate specialists at Mount Sinai South Nassau, call the Center for Prostate Health at: (516) 632-3370.