According to reports, one out of three people is diagnosed with cancer. With early detection and better treatment, patients are living longer.

"I had a problem in the evening going to the bathroom, three, four, five times sometimes," said patient Don Shorkey.

A doctor’s exam confirmed bad news for Shorkey. He had tumors on each side of his prostate.

"I had a biopsy of the prostate. That is when it showed up, the high count, and it was cancer, low grade cancer. The best way to treat that it was with radiation rather than go through radical surgery," said Shorkey.

No surgery, just radiation. The latest of its kind called the Rapid Arc. Better than traditional radiation because it rotates completely around the patient and it takes just two minutes compared to traditional treatment that can take up to twenty.

"The gantry of the machine goes around the patient 360 degrees and constantly changes the shape of the beam, changing the dose rate and also changing the gantry speed all throughout this process," said Dr. Arun Puranik.

New technology in cancer treatment
According to reports, one out of three people is diagnosed with cancer. With early detection and better treatment, patients are living longer.
 
Before each treatment, patients have a quick cat scan that locates the exact position of the tumors.
Once the three lasers are lined up, treatment begins.

Because the patient is literally here less than three minutes, they are not only more comfortable the delivery of treatment is much more exact.

The quicker the treatment the better. Organs like the colon seen here and the bladder are both very close to the prostate and can easily and quickly shift getting hit with radiation. Fewer minutes on the table mean sparing healthy tissue.

"I had 45 treatments and that of which only lasted about two minutes," said Shorkey. "Don't feel anything. It's a super thing because it is non-invasive and you don't feel a thing."

Side effects are minimal. Don will not know if he's cancer free for three months but his doctor expects he will be 100 percent cancer free.