Prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumor in men, affecting approximately 30% of all men at some point in their lives. More of those men are opting for CyberKnife® radiotherapy procedures instead of surgery. Watch Gerhard, a retired man in his 70s, discuss his own experiences. Find out why he felt surgery was not a viable option and discover how he responded to treatment. And learn more about how the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery technology works.
(Gerhard Hirsbrunner; 00:23 – 00:38)
My name is Gerhard, I’m in my 70’s and have been retired for almost 10 years.
I spend my free time with my beloved wife and grandchildren, and working on photography and films.
(Gerhard; 00:41-01:40)
During a regular routine check-up, my family doctor told me that my blood values were not good anymore and that they could indicate there was a problem. She then referred me to the Inselklinik Bern to investigate this more closely. When I was told that I had prostate cancer, of course I was shocked, but I hoped that they would help me in Bern. After the diagnosis, a doctor laid out everything in detail and explained to me what would happen and could happen as well as how and when. And I went home relatively reassured because I knew they would do everything to make it turn out all right.
(Prof. Aebersold; 01:43-02:15)
Prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumor in men. Approximately 30% of all men are affected by it at some point in their lives. In the beginning, we always have to decide whether there’s any need for treatment at all. If we decide that treatment is necessary, there are two established procedures: one is the surgical removal of the prostate and the other is radiotherapy. There are various radiotherapy procedures, including the CyberKnife, which has been installed here since 2014. We have had many and very good experiences with it.
(Gerhard; 02:18- 02:50)
The different treatment options were explained to me very precisely and professionally. An operation was not an option for me at all, because I had had enough surgeries before and did not want to take the risk. They then recommended the CyberKnife. They showed that this would actually be the best solution for me and would cause the least problems.
(Prof. Aebersold; 02:51 -03:23)
Treatment with the CyberKnife has several advantages. First and foremost the system’s high precision is in the submillimeter range. This allows us to give higher doses per session, which means that we can finish the treatment after the fifth session. Another advantage of a CyberKnife treatment is that it does not require anesthesia, the patient can undergo the treatment as an outpatient procedure and go home immediately after the treatment session. That was also the case for Gerhard.
(Gerhard; 03:27-04:02)
Five sessions were scheduled with the CyberKnife System. They went really well. The first time I looked around to see what was happening. The next four times I was sleeping. During the treatment, I didn’t feel anything negative. I only experienced the good treatment by the staff. The CyberKnife really impressed me with all its modern technology. Simply fantastic. Today, I’m doing great. I can’t express it any other way.
As of the creation of this patient profile, Gerhard found his CyberKnife treatment to be successful.
