In 1991, U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) underwent a state-of-the-art procedure at Stanford University Hospital to attack his prostate cancer.

Under the care of radiation oncologist Malcolm A. Bagshaw, MD, Cranston underwent a 90-minute procedure called interstitial hyperthermia. First the tumor was heated. Then, instead of beaming the radiation through the skin, a powerful dose was delivered directly to the tumor via an implant of radioactive pellets. Finally the malignant tumor was heated again.