Best Buddies Share Same Doctors, Best Results

Doug Meyer is used to being in charge. So when the 65-year-old administrator learned he had prostate cancer, he immersed himself in studying the disease and its many different treatments.

That research led him to books, websites and a series of e-mails and conversations with other men before he found the safe, short, effective solution he sought: CyberKnife at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital—home of the largest and most comprehensive prostate center in the area.

Pancreatic Cancer Patient: “I Had the Right Doctors Doing the Right Things”

At 71, Charlotte Robinson was a healthy woman, still working 30 hours a week at the Safeway in her southern Maryland town.

Then chest pains sent her to the local ER.

Surprisingly, her heart turned out to be just fine, but other test results puzzled her physicians. While preliminary evidence pointed to a pancreatic mass, it defied detection.

That’s when Charlotte’s doctors sent her to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, which cares for more people who have pancreatic disorders than any other hospital in the area.

Prostate Cancer Patient – “Back at Sea”

When Annapolis-area resident Frederick Hallett received a diagnosis of prostate cancer, he underwent treatment with CyberKnife at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital through one of its clinical trials. A mere two weeks later, the retired Navy captain was in command of his 30-foot sailboat, cruising the waters of coastal New England with his family.

Hallett had an early-stage tumor and both low PSA and Gleason scores, making him a good candidate for treatment by CyberKnife alone. He underwent five consecutive days of therapy, lasting approximately an hour each, versus the 40 or so treatments required by IMRT or three months of constant internal radiation from brachytherapy. His first post-treatment test — conducted a month later when he arrived in Newport, Rhode Island — showed that his PSA had decreased to 2 from a previous high of 9.3.

“I was stunned — I didn’t think those results were possible in less than a year,” he says. “Now I’m an enthusiast, a zealot,” he says. “When I hear what my friends are going through, I am so thankful I was treated with CyberKnife.”

Prostate Cancer Patient – “CyberKnife Saved my Life”

In March 2005, Thomas Bennett became the first patient at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to undergo CyberKnife therapy for prostate cancer.

"Ironically, I had a low PSA," the resident of Hyattsville, Maryland, recalls. "But what tipped my urologist off was the rapid change in levels. Within a 12-month period, my reading rose from 2.6 to 3.8."

Bennett's urologist recommended surgery, but the high-school math tutor sought a second opinion. After doing his own research and consulting with others, Bennett soon found himself at MedStar Georgetown with a decision to make.

"As it turns out, I had a very serious cancer," Bennett says, "and doctors weren't sure how well it would respond to conventional radiation therapies. They offered me the chance to participate in a standard eight-week IMRT treatment, supplemented by a 'booster shot' from a new technology called CyberKnife."

Bennett completed the two treatments, and today has every confidence of achieving the important five-year survival mark.

“My most recent PSA was so low it was almost undetectable,” he says. “I believe the combination of the PSA test, quick medical intervention and CyberKnife saved my life.”