CyberKnife Helps a Local Man Fight Prostate Cancer
When Point Pleasant resident Dennis Rittenhouse was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005, he knew he was not going to be taken down by the disease. Determination to overcome his illness and an incomparable alternative treatment option in his backyard led Dennis to Riverview Medical Center.
“I’m the type of guy who likes to look around and see what else is out there,” says Dennis. “So after I was diagnosed, I went on the Internet to look up possible treatments for prostate cancer and stumbled upon CyberKnife®. Low and behold, Riverview offered it.”
According to Adnan Danish, M.D., medical director of the CyberKnife Center at Riverview and part of Meridian Cancer Care, one in every six men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, but with all the options and education available today, diagnoses can be made earlier and with better prognoses.
A busy man who is always on the go, Dennis wanted to minimize the amount of time he would have to spend going through treatment and recovery. “I play trombone in five different bands. I am in a Dixie band, two big bands, a 12-piece jazz band, and a concert band. I have a family and grandchildren. I didn’t want to be away from that,” says Dennis.
CyberKnife is a minimally invasive procedure that is performed on an outpatient basis. It requires only one week of treatment, significantly lower than the nine weeks it typically takes to treat prostate cancer using conventional radiation therapy.
“In the right patients, CyberKnife can offer the same cure rates for prostate cancer that we achieve with radiation therapy without increasing the risk for side effects or complications,” Dr. Danish explains. “This is because of its ability to focus high doses of radiation on the tumor with tremendous accuracy while minimizing radiation exposure to normal, healthy tissue.”
Dennis recalls his experience with CyberKnife and Riverview as impressive. “The first day I walked in and my technician asked me what kind of music I like. I told him I liked bluegrass. The next time I was there, he had made me a CD of bluegrass music to listen to during my treatments. It was just terrific.”
Dennis experienced no pain, no side effects, and no recovery time, and explains that the biggest challenge he faced during his treatments was lying still for two hours.
“Everything I read came true. It was noninvasive, it was easy, and I wasn’t stressed,” Dennis says. “I was confident this would work for me, and it did.”
“I’m the type of guy who likes to look around and see what else is out there,” says Dennis. “So after I was diagnosed, I went on the Internet to look up possible treatments for prostate cancer and stumbled upon CyberKnife®. Low and behold, Riverview offered it.”
According to Adnan Danish, M.D., medical director of the CyberKnife Center at Riverview and part of Meridian Cancer Care, one in every six men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, but with all the options and education available today, diagnoses can be made earlier and with better prognoses.
A busy man who is always on the go, Dennis wanted to minimize the amount of time he would have to spend going through treatment and recovery. “I play trombone in five different bands. I am in a Dixie band, two big bands, a 12-piece jazz band, and a concert band. I have a family and grandchildren. I didn’t want to be away from that,” says Dennis.
CyberKnife is a minimally invasive procedure that is performed on an outpatient basis. It requires only one week of treatment, significantly lower than the nine weeks it typically takes to treat prostate cancer using conventional radiation therapy.
“In the right patients, CyberKnife can offer the same cure rates for prostate cancer that we achieve with radiation therapy without increasing the risk for side effects or complications,” Dr. Danish explains. “This is because of its ability to focus high doses of radiation on the tumor with tremendous accuracy while minimizing radiation exposure to normal, healthy tissue.”
Dennis recalls his experience with CyberKnife and Riverview as impressive. “The first day I walked in and my technician asked me what kind of music I like. I told him I liked bluegrass. The next time I was there, he had made me a CD of bluegrass music to listen to during my treatments. It was just terrific.”
Dennis experienced no pain, no side effects, and no recovery time, and explains that the biggest challenge he faced during his treatments was lying still for two hours.
“Everything I read came true. It was noninvasive, it was easy, and I wasn’t stressed,” Dennis says. “I was confident this would work for me, and it did.”
Meet the Doctor
Adnan F. Danish, M.D.
Board certified in Radiation Oncology
Red Bank | 732-530-2468
