for Prostate & Lung Cancer
Because more than 44,000 men in the region die annually from prostate cancer, the Nalitt Institute has
developed an active program to detect and treat this disease -- a program that is among the most
progressive in the metropolitan area.
In a series of educational seminars scheduled throughout the year, patients are advised of the issues in prostate cancer screening and the various modalities used in treatment, including Transperineal Radioactive Seed Implantation pioneered at University Hospital. With substantial experience using this procedure, the University Hospital team of urologists and radiation oncologists have developed a technique that efficiently delivers potent radiation directly into the diseased prostate, sparing the vital surrounding organs. In most cases the implantation takes about an hour to complete. Additional therapy with body radiosurgery, an outpatient procedure, makes the University Hospital program unique.
The Nalitt Institute also recognizes the need to present patients with the growing variety of options available as research develops alternatives that include pharmacological treatments, traditional surgery, external beam radiation, even cryosurgery -- and combinations of these treatments.
LUNG CANCER
Of the 12,000 cases of lung cancer that are diagnosed yearly in New York, about 240 are newly diagnosed on Staten Island. Although there have been established links between the onset of this disease and environmental causes, pulmonary medicine specialists at the Nalitt Institute believe that the overwhelming cause is cigarette smoking.
There are established treatments available at University Hospital that can prove beneficial even in advanced disease. Unfortunately, the tell-take symptoms, like persistent cough, chest pain and recurring pulmonary disorders, do not appear until lung cancer has begun to advance.
Michael Castellano, M.D., director of pulmonary medicine, determines a patient's course of treatment by the state of the disease when it has been discovered. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most common options. Dr. Castellano also utilizes the innovative Radioactive Seed Implantation procedure at University Hospital to help clear obstructed breathing passages or attack tumors that are causing a patient's shortness of breath or persistent cough.
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In a series of educational seminars scheduled throughout the year, patients are advised of the issues in prostate cancer screening and the various modalities used in treatment, including Transperineal Radioactive Seed Implantation pioneered at University Hospital. With substantial experience using this procedure, the University Hospital team of urologists and radiation oncologists have developed a technique that efficiently delivers potent radiation directly into the diseased prostate, sparing the vital surrounding organs. In most cases the implantation takes about an hour to complete. Additional therapy with body radiosurgery, an outpatient procedure, makes the University Hospital program unique.
The Nalitt Institute also recognizes the need to present patients with the growing variety of options available as research develops alternatives that include pharmacological treatments, traditional surgery, external beam radiation, even cryosurgery -- and combinations of these treatments.
LUNG CANCER
Of the 12,000 cases of lung cancer that are diagnosed yearly in New York, about 240 are newly diagnosed on Staten Island. Although there have been established links between the onset of this disease and environmental causes, pulmonary medicine specialists at the Nalitt Institute believe that the overwhelming cause is cigarette smoking.
There are established treatments available at University Hospital that can prove beneficial even in advanced disease. Unfortunately, the tell-take symptoms, like persistent cough, chest pain and recurring pulmonary disorders, do not appear until lung cancer has begun to advance.
Michael Castellano, M.D., director of pulmonary medicine, determines a patient's course of treatment by the state of the disease when it has been discovered. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most common options. Dr. Castellano also utilizes the innovative Radioactive Seed Implantation procedure at University Hospital to help clear obstructed breathing passages or attack tumors that are causing a patient's shortness of breath or persistent cough.
 | Michael
Castellano, M.D. Dr. Castellano's compassion for his patients has become even more intense during his 20 years serving Staten Island as a pulmonary specialist. He is so convinced that the greatest majority of lung cancers could have been avoided that he has developed a rigorous smoking cessation program at University Hospital -- one of the few in the nation that is based in a healthcare environment. Certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Castellano is an assistant professor of medicine at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. Educated at Bologna University, hecompleted his residency at and fellowship training at Bellevue Hospital - New York University Medical Center. |