Dennis Deisenroth was shocked when doctors diagnosed him with prostate cancer. "You never think something like this will happen to you. I have no history of cancer in my family."
The 68-year-old is now undergoing radiation treatments.
And he's hoping this new GPS technology will help lead him to a cancer free future. "With the Calypso System there are little GPS beacons in the prostate and ten times a second we ping them so we can know where the prostate is," says Dr. Al V. Taira, radiation oncologist.
During treatment, the prostate often moves...so in the past, radiation was delivered to a large area...to make sure the tumors were hit.
But now if there's any movement, the GPS technology sounds an alert that the radiation is off course sparing surrounding organs, including the bladder, from unnecessary radiation.
Because the GPS technology is so precise, patients can also receive a higher dose of radiation and that can help increase a patient's chance of being cured.
Dennis has had 23 ten minute sessions like this.
The Calypso System coupled with other technology is sparing Dennis and many other patients like him from surgery. "This is a complete alternative to surgery, most patients don't want surgery and this is a way to effectively target prostate and in most cases it's just as good as and in some cases better than the surgical procedure," says Dr. Taira.
Dennis says so far he's had no side effects.
And is as active as ever. "I play golf once a week," says Deisenroth.
Dennis must complete 44 sessions like this. "I am not concerned in the least that I will be 100 percent healthy when this is over."
He's convinced with the help of GPS technology his health is headed in the right direction.
