Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men next to skin cancer, but there is a new, pain-free way to treat the disease.

NewsChannel5 reports that the treatment is available right now in Cleveland.

For the last 10 years, Walter Bates (pictured, below) of Shaker Heights, Ohio, has received regular injections to fight prostate cancer, which meant a trip to the doctor's office every few months -- until recently.

"Dr. Goldman suggested they had this new implant (that) had just (come) out," Bates said.

Bates' urologist, Dr. Howard Goldman of University Hospitals, suggested an implant designed to deliver the drug Viadur over a one-year period. Although the new treatment meant no painful shots, that's not the only good news.

"They don't have to worry about coming back exactly every three months, so many men in Cleveland who may go to Florida for the winter, they don't have to worry about finding a new urologist," Goldman said.

The vial is about the size of a match. Using a local anesthetic, it's implanted into the upper arm between the bicep and tricep muscles. Moisture inside the body slowly forces the medication out. The device is then replaced after a year.

"The only feeling I had there was a little splinter under the site, but even now, I've forgotten all about that," Bates said. "So now there's no discomfort (and) no side effects, as far as I can tell."

Since the implant is good for a year, Bates can take trips, like one that he's planning to Africa, without having to plan around his doctor appointments.

"So now, we're free to do whatever we want until, I think, the next shot comes in, sometime next May," he said.

Bates is the first patient in Cleveland to receive the implant, but more procedures are planned at University Hospitals.