Looking for RT doing SBRT Buffalo NY area

Couple of quick thoughts:

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is supposed to be one of the best in your area and have everything you could be looking for:
https://www.roswellpark.org/cancer-care/treatments/radiation-medicine/treatment-types

Standard IMRT is around 40 treatments. There are some doing accelerated treatments at higher daily dosage in 25-30 treatments. SBRT can be done in 5 treatments at much higher dosage.

The risk with all RT treatments are the side effects but the doctors appear to be getting better with the higher dosage treatments and ways to minimize them. You just need to talk to the RO's that do the respective treatments and decide which one you believe and trust the most.

From what I’ve read, I agree that Roswell is the place to go. SBRT has an excellent track record for low and low intermediate risk cases.
Here’s an article of interest... https://www.astro.org/news-and-publications/news-and-media-center/news-releases/2018/men-with-low-and-intermediate-risk-prostate-cancer
From the article...note the follow up time was relatively short - 6-9 years.

Somebody said...
None of the patients in the study died from prostate cancer. In all, 100 patients (6 percent) experienced recurrence and 10 experienced distant metastases (0.6 percent). In the low-risk group, 95.5 percent of patients were free from BCR at seven years. In the favorable intermediate-risk group, 91.4 percent of patients were BCR-free at seven years. In the unfavorable intermediate-risk group, 85.1 percent were BCR-free at seven years.

I looked at the link provided. It is probably the case that Roswell Park does not utilize SBRT for treatment of prostate cancer and that is why your URO did not mention them.

There should be others here that can make recommendations to you in your area. In the mean time search, cyberknife treatments specifically for prostate cancer treatment in your area. Traveling to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC may be one to put near the top of your list. I live in TN and traveled to UCLA in California for my treatment w/ sbrt with Dr. King. Main reason was my insurance (BCBS) would not cover it here in TN, but did in CA because my insurance covered the procedure in that state.

You have plenty of time to explore your options and make a choice of doctors you are most comfortable with.

Well, if you're in Buffalo, you're not all that far from Cleveland and the Cleveland Clinic.....or Rochester and the University of Rochester system there.

Another link regarding Roswell radiation options. Good luck with the insurance part.
https://www.roswellpark.org/cancer/prostate/treatment/radiation

You can do some searching on Cyberknife vs. TrueBeam for example and find all sorts of comparisons that only a techie could appreciate. SBRT is the treatment and while the machines differ a bit, all current machines can accurately apply higher does radiation to a small area.

There are a number of trade names and a lot of marketing mixed in whereas SBRT is the more generic description of what is going on. I might suggest visiting both places and listening to their proposed treatment program and ask each to compare to the other. You may find the experience of the RO, facility, and the precautions they take to minimize side effects to be more important than the device.

As far as time goes, you have months vs. years to make a decision. I might suggest you make appointments with everyone you want to see then make a decision. That should only take a month or two then think about it for a couple days and flip a coin. It takes a little time to get any of the options going and get insurance approval, etc.

Thanks guys, Syracuse is closer than Cleveland, and definitely want experience. a lot to digest with this
challenging decision.

You're entering into what is the most challenging part of the process--the task of doing the consults, talking to the experts, finding "your team". This is a key, at least to me. Somehow--and it happens often--you'll have a meeting with a doctor, an office staff--and you'll know that you're in the right place. Once you make the decision and set the plan in place, you'll relax.

SBRT is a great treatment--5 treatments over a 2 week period and you're done. Honestly, if it had been available near me 5 years ago, I might well have gone that route. It would be awesome if you can get treated near home--but travel for treatment isn't the end of the world. Absolutely talk to your insurance and get all that lined up. Most insurers have cancer treatment specialists who can walk you through the process.

You're making the right moves, asking the right questions...patience, the answers will come.

Hi BigCat,
Sorry you had to join our group. Have you looked into Highland Hospital in Rochester? The staff in the RO Department is excellent, and I can't say enough about my care.
I am not sure what types of radiation treatments they have, but I do know they have a Varian TrueBeam unit that is relatively new.