Creativity at its peak

New Help For Prostate Cancer Patients

Florida Hospital Waterman Cancer Institute recently announced it has a new tool proven to protect prostate cancer patients from the side effects of radiation therapy. A press release offered these statistics from the American Cancer Society

• Prostate cancer is second only to skin cancer as most frequently diagnosed in men.

• Worldwide, prostate cancer growth is expected to reach 1.7 million new cases by 2030.

Recently, FHW injected a patient for the first time with SpaceOAR hydrogel, the first FDA-cleared spacing device to protect the rectum during radiation therapy for prostate cancer. This system temporarily positions the anterior rectal wall away from the prostate during radiotherapy, thus creating the space to protect the rectum. Florida Hospital Waterman Cancer Institute is the first cancer center in Lake County to offer this advance technology.

“The SpaceOAR hydrogel placement is tolerated well, and we have level 1 clinical evidence to show that it decreases side effects and improves quality of life after radiation therapy to the prostate. We are excited to offer SpaceOAR and extend this benefit to our prostate cancer patients,” says Dr. Anudh Jain, radiation oncologist at

Sleep deprivation may play a part in Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. Just one night of lost sleep leads to the immediate increase in beta-amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with the disease, a press release states. Beta-amyloid proteins clump together to form amyloid plaques, which are a hallmark of the disease. This is the first study that demonstrates sleep may play an important role in human beta-amyloid clearance. Beta-amyloid is a metabolic waste product demonstrated the negative effect of sleep deprivation on beta-amyloid burden in the human brain. Future studies are needed to assess the generalizability to a larger and more diverse population,” Dr. Ehsan Shokri-Kojori says. It is also important to note that the link between sleep disorders and Alzheimer’s risk is considered by many scientists to be “bidirectional,” since elevated beta-amyloid may also lead to

It Dissolves In Your Mouth

Taking medication orally is sometimes a challenge for children and adults alike. Meroven Pharmaceuticals has developed a new way to administer drugs, according to its website. Called Spee-D Oral Films, these are like the familiar mouthwash films that melt on your tongue. They’re fast-dissolving films and are gaining interest as an alternative to oral tablets, capsules, or effervescent dosage forms. Because the films quickly become liquid, there’s no need to have liquid to take them. Right now, the company offers Tadalafil, Ondansetron, and vitamin D3 in oral films.

Partnership Means Better Health

The University of Florida Shands Hospital system and Central Florida Health have agreed to collaborate on new health initiatives to expand access to leading-edge patient care programs and clinical studies for residents of Lake, Sumter, and Marion counties, according to a press release. Hospital officials will work together to explore the creation of primary care physician training opportunities at Central Florida Health’s Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital. With demand for primary care physicians increasing due to the population growth in this area, growing the physician workforce will provide two benefits: physicians tend to stay near where they complete their training, and there will be economic benefits throughout the area.

A Drive To Help

Comprehensive stroke care already is in place with the two agencies, allowing UF Health physicians to accept transfer patients 24/7 and provide around-the-clock access to consultations with vascular neurologists for treatment plans and decisions related to the administration of the clot-busting drug tPA.

“This affiliation is an acknowledgment of the great care we already offer, and a means to find ways of coordinating care for patients from our local community who have especially complex medical problems we don’t typically treat,” says Don Henderson, president and CEO of Central Florida Health. “It is important for us to work with a comprehensive academic health center like UF Health because it affords us the ability to continually offer our patients the latest medical breakthroughs.”

If you’d like to help someone on the road to recovery, be a driver for the American Cancer Society. This group needs volunteers to provide transportation for patients. Volunteers like you can offer free rides to cancer patients to and from treatments. Visit cancer.org/drive to sign up and give your neighbor a nice lift.