Piedmont Fayette Hospital Hosts Prostate Cancer “Ask the Doc” Session in Recognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

PFH is Proud to Now Offer Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer Patients

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer found in American men. September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and Piedmont Fayette Hospital (PFH) and the American Cancer Society want to help educate men about this disease which will affect one in six men in their lifetime.

Man to Man, the prostate cancer support group held monthly at PFH, will hold a special “Ask the Doc” session at its next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. at Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s 1279 Building, in the 3rd floor conference rooms. Medical oncologist Jonathan Bender, M.D., and urologist Scott Shelfo, M.D., will lead the discussion and answer questions concerning prostate cancer.

This free and informative session will feature a variety of topics including risk factors, diagnosis, treatment options, and ways to control recurrent cancer. Participants will also learn more about the plans for the new cancer center at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, as well as new cancer treatments available at PFH, including brachytherapy, a cutting-edge treatment for prostate cancer.

Brachytherapy allows radiation to concentrate more on cancerous cells, therefore inflicting less damage on normal cells. This unique type of radiation therapy allows higher doses of radiation to be administered as close to the cancer as possible over a shorter period of time.

In brachytherapy, small radioactive isotopes are placed in seeds, wires and rods called implants and then placed in the body. There are two types of brachytherapy placement: temporary and permanent. Temporary brachytherapy uses higher doses of radiation in the implants, which are removed after treatment. Permanent therapy uses small implants, which are inserted directly into the tumor, with smaller doses of radiation that remain in place after radiation is complete.

Man to Man support group is held on the 4th Tuesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m., and provides a forum for men and their partners to discuss diagnosis, treatment options, and quality-of-life issues surrounding prostate cancer. This program will be followed by a period of questions as well as a time for sharing experiences.

The presentation is open to the public. For more information on the event, please call Man to Man coordinator Jim O'Hara at 770-632-2898, or Lisa Cockerham of the American Cancer Society in Peachtree City at 770-631-0625. For more information on cancer services at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, visit fayettehospital.org.

About Piedmont Fayette Hospital
Named one of the nation’s Most Wired hospitals for five consecutive years in the 100 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study, Piedmont Fayette Hospital (PFH), ranked third in patient satisfaction among metro Atlanta hospitals according to the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey released in March 2009. One of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® four years in a row (2004-2007) according to Thomson Reuters (formerly Solucient), Piedmont Fayette Hospital is a 143-bed, acute-care community hospital located on Highway 54 in Fayetteville, offering 24-hour emergency services, medical and surgical services, as well as obstetrics, diagnostic cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation services. With over1,100 employees and a medical staff of over 500 physicians, PFH is a member of Piedmont Healthcare (PHC), a not-for-profit organization that also includes Piedmont Hospital, a 481-bed acute tertiary care facility offering all major medical, surgical and diagnostic services located on 26 acres in the north Atlanta community of Buckhead; Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, a 42-bed community hospital in Jasper; and Piedmont Newnan Hospital, a 143-bed, acute-care community hospital in Newnan. Piedmont Healthcare also is the parent company of the Piedmont Heart Institute (PHI), which combines over 60 renowned cardiologists in the Piedmont Heart Institute Physicians with over 30 offices across north Georgia, and the 162-bed Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta; Piedmont Philanthropy, the philanthropic entity for private fundraising initiatives; the Piedmont Physicians Group, with over 100 primary care physicians in 30 offices throughout metro Atlanta; and the Piedmont Clinic, a 600-member physician network. For more information, visit fayettehospital.org.
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