David Graham, MD, a board-certified Radiation Oncologist at the Watson Clinic Cancer & Research Center, is the first specialist in Florida to be named a Center of Excellence for his expertise in utilizing the SpaceOAR™ Hydrogel, a revolutionary injectable spacer that minimizes the oftentimes painful and damaging side effects of radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients. This recognition was presented by the device manufacturer Boston Scientific.
Radiation therapy is a popular prostate cancer treatment that helps to ensure long-term management and survival of the disease. But the treatment can also produce undesirable side effects, such as damage to healthy surrounding tissue, and compromised urinary tract, bowel and sexual function. The SpaceOAR™ Hydrogel is a soft injectable spacer that gently separates the prostate from the rectum, greatly minimizing the possibility of these ill side effects.
“Patients have enjoyed a greatly enhanced quality of life thanks to this spacer,” reports Dr. Graham. “The spacer is predominantly made of water, and is implanted during a simple outpatient procedure. After a period of months, the hydrogel is naturally absorbed into the body and expelled through the urine.”
Dr. Graham treats patients from his office at the Watson Clinic Cancer & Research Center located at 1730 Lakeland Hills Blvd. in Lakeland.
Dr. Graham received his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He performed an internship in general surgery at Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, PA. He performed residencies in radiation oncology at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, and Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA. He is board-certified in radiation oncology by the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Graham is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, the Cyberknife Society and the Radiosurgery Society.
For more information on the benefits of the SpaceOAR™ Hydrogel spacer, call 863-603-4717.