Are you willing to go under the knife with a robotic surgeon? A machine, a scalpel and your body?
It’s happening and it’s generating amazing results. A robotic surgeon in a public New South Wales (Australia) hospital has been successfully operating on prostate cancer patients. “Big deal” i hear you say, “doctors have been doing that for a century”! True, but the difference between a human surgeon and a robotic one is the recovery time… hours versus months!
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer is bad but with this new development, there’s a silver lining up there on the horizon.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer worldwide. It is the fifth leading cause of death among men. In fact, out of every seven men, at least one will be diagnosed with the disease. More than 307,000 men will die of prostate cancer each year. The numbers are scary. Yet vast numbers of men are neither seeking nor getting help.
Even when diagnosed, many men delay surgery. The current surgical techniques are extremely invasive and recovery is slow. We’re talking about an invasive procedure that requires a big open cut to the abdomen. That results in a 10-day stay in the hospital and almost 6-8 weeks of recovery time. For many, this translates into missed work days… days without a paycheck. Given that the progress of the disease is usually slow, delay is often considered a viable option. Unfortunately, delay can be fatal.
You have a choice!
Robotic prostatectomy is a far better choice. It is minimally invasive, such that the patient can go home the same day of the procedure! So why don’t all prostrate cancer victims opt for it? Cost! The price tag causes the vast majority of patients to immediately reject this option. In fact, it’s so expensive that people mortgage their homes to pay for private robotic prostatectomy.
In a readical change to the public health system, three public hospitals in the state now have this robotic machine. Nepean’s Hospital head of urology, Dr. Mohamed Khadra, hopes that such technology at a public hospital will encourage men to visit a health professional and seek help.
I say, this should be made available to the rest of the world!
And by the way, if you’re a man between the ages of 50 and 70, visit your doctor. It might save your life.
Here’s another Australian invention that dramatically improved the treatment for prostate cancer. It’s not only better, it’s cheaper, and faster. You can read all about it here.
