Dynamic Technology on the Move

Clark Hayward is a physically active 53-year-old father of three. During a routine physical, his primary physician noticed a nodule on the left side of his prostate. Since Clark had no symptoms, his doctor didn’t think there was anything to worry about but just to be safe, he referred Hayward to a urologist who took a biopsy. The results came back as a big shock – multiple tumors and a high likelihood the cancer had spread beyond the prostate.

As a part-time paramedic, Clark knows a lot about emergency medicine but up until then, he had heard little about prostate cancer. Determined to confront his life-threatening diagnosis head on, Clark started out on an aggressive research quest that led him to Dr. Puranik and the Image Guided Radiation Therapy team.

“Based on my own personal goals and lifestyle, surgery was not a good option for me, so I sought out a few treatment options and liked Dr. Puranik’s plan the best. It was the follow-up radiation treatment that made up my mind – Dr. Puranik’s ability to visualize the tumor, reduce the margins around it, and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible.”

Dr. Puranik prescribed brachytherapy – radiation seed implantation – followed by a precise regimen of image guided radiation therapy targeted at the moment of treatment.

Today, Clark Hayward has an excellent prognosis and continues to enjoy his active lifestyle of running, mountain biking, skiing and assorted outdoor sports. “I chose this treatment to avoid some of the side effects presented by my other options. I’m pleasantly surprised that I’ve had fewer problems than I thought I would,” he says. “I’m very optimistic about the future.”