New Treatment Offers Hope to Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients

Ocean Medical Center is first hospital in Monmouth and Ocean Counties to offer Xofigo treatment.

BRICK, N.J., Oct. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Men who have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer now have a new treatment option at Ocean Medical Center. Recently approved by the FDA, Xofigo is an intravenous (IV) injection of a radioactive material that treats metastatic prostate cancer resistant to medical or surgical treatments.

If prostate cancer grows outside of the prostate gland, it spreads into nearby tissues or lymph nodes, and then nearly always spreads to the bones. Spread of cancer to the bones can be painful and result in bone fractures or high blood calcium levels, which can be dangerous or even life threatening. Preventing or slowing the spread of prostate cancer to the bones is a major goal of treatment if the cancer has grown outside of the prostate.

Xofigo is an injectable radioactive material, the isotope Radium-223. The drug resembles calcium in the body, which allows direct absorption into the bones adjacent to areas where prostate cancer has spread. Given the unique characteristics of the treatment, the radiation is very focused and precise, only traveling a short distance from the areas containing the prostate cancer spread to bone and 20 times more potent than standard x-ray treatment. This protects the rest of the body from many of the possible damaging effects of treatment.

"For the first time, this treatment increases the patients' life expectancy, improves their chance for a better quality of life, and protects the skeleton from serious complications associated with prostate cancer spreading to bone. It is an exciting new weapon in the fight against metastatic prostate cancer," says Douglas A. Miller, M.D., a board certified radiation oncologist at Ocean Medical Center and a member of Meridian Cancer Care.

"This treatment will build upon the multi-disciplinary urology oncology program of Meridian Cancer Care, where we encourage all prostate cancer patients, even those with advanced or metastatic disease, to seek a consensus opinion regarding optimal treatment," said Mark Perlmutter, M.D., medical director for the Urology Oncology Program at Meridian Cancer Care.

Ocean Medical Center is one of the first hospitals in New Jersey to offer Xofigo treatment. Contact your urologist or treating physician to learn if Xofigo is an option for you or a loved one. Or, to find a physician, call the Meridian Health free physician referral line at 1-800-DOCTORS.

About Ocean Medical Center
Standing out as a premier medical center along the Jersey Shore, Ocean Medical Center is home to exceptional talent, state-of-the-art technologies, and a growing medical campus, all surrounded by a community that offers quality of life for individuals and families of all ages. Ocean is a 281-bed non-profit community hospital located in Brick, New Jersey that provides health care programs and services in all major medical disciplines. Some key services include designation as a Primary Stroke Center; brain lab and neurological surgery; DaT Scan and advanced imaging technology; general, thoracic, and vascular surgery; comprehensive cancer care and radiation therapy technologies; a Joint Commission accredited orthopedic program; one of the nation's most advanced cardiac catheterization laboratories and cardiac services; maternity, Acute Care of the Elderly, and critical care services. The Medical Center has begun a four-level Master Facility Plan that will transform the campus through an $82 million project that sets a foundation for future decades of growth. The main component of the project is a new 44,300 sq. ft. Emergency Department. The Medical Center features Magnet award winning nurses who work in collaboration with the medical staff, and is a System Partner, along with the other Meridian Health facilities, with the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Ocean Medical Center also operates the state's first Satellite Emergency Department in Point Pleasant, called the Ocean Care Center. The Medical Center has grown tremendously since opening in 1984 and is well positioned to evolve and respond to the changing community and health care landscape.

Donna Sellmann, Public Relations Manager, E: [email protected], T. 732.840.4279, F. 732.836.4432

SOURCE Meridian Health