12:25 AM EST on Monday, November 21, 2005

Men with advanced prostate cancer now have another option to slow the disease and ease symptoms.

The new therapy not only spells relief, it spells convenience.

"I can feel the implant just under the skin," says Roy Banks, who suffers from prostate cancer.

He is talking about a new prostate cancer implant that has helped keep his cancer in remission and makes his life easier.

"You don't have to deal with quarterly and monthly injections. And those injections are more painful than that yearly procedure is." he says.

Also Online

View this story Viadur implant

Roy's doctor recommended the once a year treatment becaus ehis cancer has spread.

"Once the cancer goes outside the prostate gland, then local therapy like radiation or cryotherapy or radical surgery is not effective." says Dr. Myron Murdock, a urologist.

The implant contains Lupron, a compund that slows the production of testosterone.

"By decreasing testosterone, we can actually suppress most cases of prostate cancer," says Dr. Murdock.

It doesn't cure the disease but it can slow it down and ease symptoms of pain and urinary problems.

The small implant is placed under the skin in a procedure that takes minutes.

"Once it's implanted, the release of the chemical, the release of the drug, this lupron-like drug maintains itself for at least 12 months." says Dr. Murdock.

After one year, patients can get a replacement.

"Making a small cut, popping out the old implant. And then there's a fibrous sheath that surrounds the old implant, we'll just slip the new implant right into that fibrous sheath." says the Doctor.

The new implant will continue to pump medicine into the body at a slow, smooth pace, an improvement over injections.

"I also discovered that the implant would be less costly than the regular injections that I had been receiving," says Roy Banks.

Because the treatment lowers testosterone, patients may experience male menopause even impotence.

For more more information about the Viadur implant, call 1-800-288-8371.

Or go to Newslinks on our home page at WHAS 11.COM