Research>Prostate Radiation

Is Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer Your Best Option?

The answer to that question is, it depends. Radiation therapy for prostate cancer is definitely a good option, and for some men it is the best option. But it depends.

In a 50-year old man radiation therapy is the best option. In an 80-year old man, it probably isn’t.

Younger men benefit more from radiation therapy for prostate cancer than older men do. Radiation therapy with pellets has the same results as external radiation therapy, and is an excellent option for younger men. The failure rate of radiation therapy for prostate cancer is low when the cancer is diagnosed early, and therapy doesn’t cause a significant interruption in his normal routine. He is usually able to return to work within a few days.

The only chemo available to treat prostate cancer right now is hormone injections that stop testosterone production. Few young men are ready to give up their testosterone if it isn’t absolutely necessary.

The most troubling side effects of prostate cancer treatment are incontinence and impotence. Either can occur with either surgical or radiation treatment for prostate cancer. As long as the cancer hasn’t spread, and it is localized in the prostate, radiation therapy for prostate cancer—especially brachytherapy—is the best option for younger men.

It’s different with older men, though. Most prostate cancer is slow-growing, especially in older men. The cost of treatment, in pain and complications, is higher than the cost of living with cancer. In most older men, the best treatment is “watchful waiting.”

Prostate Cancer Treatment With Radiation Therapy

There are several prostate cancer treatment options that are available. Radiation therapy, more commonly known as radiotherapy, is the most often prescribed prostate cancer treatment. Radiation therapy kills off your cancerous cells with high energy radiation beams. Although the technology now is already far more advanced as compared to many years ago; still, some normal body cells are inevitably get killed during the treatment process. A loss in your normal cells result in some of the side effects that you experience.

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer treatment can be used for all stages of the disease. If you are diagnosed as having early stage prostate cancer then radiation therapy can be used on its own. In this case, there is no need for surgery. Advanced stage cancers may require surgery followed by a course of radiation therapy for relief of pain associated with the disease.

There are two main ways in which radiation can be used as a prostate cancer treatment; internally and externally. The type of radiotherapy that will be recommended to you will be based on your circumstances and the extent of your cancer. You should get more information about the treatments and how they work from your oncologist.

The prostate cancer treatment known as brachytherapy, or internal radiation, works by implanting microbeads of radioactive material directly into your cancerous tissue. These microbeads kill the cancerous cells in the immediate vicinity. A very small number of normal body cells also become damaged in the process. You may also suffer from minor side effects such as urinary leakage and/or penile dysfunction.

Having internal radiotherapy as a prostate cancer treatment will mean you have to undergo keyhole surgery. This is a one-time procedure and involves a short stay in hospital. It is relatively expensive, however. Thus, your doctor will usually recommend this option where cure is still highly possible; in the instance where the cancerous cells have not spread to other parts of your body.

External radiation is the more commonly prescribed prostate cancer treatment. You may need to go to the hospital as often as five times per week. In this case the radiation beam penetrates through the skin, muscle and fat before it reaches the cancerous tissue of the prostate. Many normal body cells can be damaged. Thus with this form of treatment you tend to experience more severe and varied side effects than with the previous option.

In the course of this prostate cancer treatment, you may lose some of your pubic hair permanently. You may feel sore and dry in the area being treated. You may also suffer from incontinence, urinary and bowel discomfort. There is also a chance of impotence as the tissues around the prostate gland are affected. Hopefully, medical advancements can be made one day so that fewer normal body cells get damaged in the process.

Radiation therapy can be an exhausting process to go through. During this period, you are advised to take plenty of rest and to set all your worries aside.

Psa Bounce After Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer: Keeping An Eye On The Ball

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland. It is measured in the blood stream and is a useful tool for following men who have been treated for prostate cancer. Does a PSA elevation after radiation treatment, be it a prostate seed implant and/or external beam radiation therapy, always signify disease recurrence?

In the past, a PSA elevation after a prostate seed implant or external beam radiation therapy was considered to be a harbinger of a prostate cancer relapse, often prompting expensive tests and invoking a great deal of patient anxiety. Then, when the PSA level climbed to10 ng/ml or greater, men were placed on hormonal therapy. Since the latter is associated with a number of unpleasant side effects, it is desirable to refrain from using hormonal therapy unless necessary. The question then arises: when does an increase in the PSA level not signify that cancer has returned?
There is a phenomenon known as a PSA bounce, in which the PSA level jumps up within one to three years after the man has completed radiation therapy. The PSA level eventually returns to the baseline it attained just after treatment. PSA bounce may be caused by death of the damaged cancer cells that release their PSA.

A PSA bounce usually begins with less than a one-point (less than 1 ng/ml) rise in the PSA level. Also, elevations of the PSA level after three years are less likely to be part of a bounce, and unlike a bounce, rises of the PSA level by more than 1.2ng/ml are less likely to drop back to their starting points.

A recent study collected data on 7,500 men who were treated for prostate cancer with radiation therapy. Nearly half of these men were found to have a PSA bounce. However, there was no adverse effect on their survival. In fact, these men fared just as well as men whose PSA did not bounce. Also, patients who show such a PSA bounce less than two years after treatment may be less likely to have cancer return later.

More good news is now that physicians are aware that an elevation in the PSA level does not necessarily mean prostate cancer has recurred, men whose PSA bounces after radiation therapy can be followed by their doctors, who can repeat the PSA blood test six months later.

How Radiation Treatment For Prostate Cancer Works

Most cancers are treated medically with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Currently, there isn’t a good chemotherapy option for prostate cancer in the early stages, which leaves surgery or radiation treatment for prostate cancer.

If the surgeon gets the entire tumor, surgery is a 100% cure. It does require a hospital stay and wearing a catheter for a while. There are risks with any surgery, and one risk with prostate surgery is impotence

There are two types of radiation treatment for prostate cancer: seed therapy and external beam radiation therapy. Radiation therapy works by killing the cancer cells. The goal is to kill all the cancer cells, but not any healthy cells.

The first type of radiation treatment for prostate cancer is external radiation treatment. Usually, the man receives five treatments a week for seven weeks. If the cancer has spread, radiation can be aimed at those areas, too. External radiation is painless, doesn’t require any anesthesia and only takes a few minutes each time. It does mean a daily trip to a treatment facility, though.

Side effects of radiation treatment for prostate cancer include incontinence, impotence and fatigue. Not everyone experiences these side effects.

The other type of radiation treatment for prostate cancer is seed therapy, or brachytherapy. Small seeds of radioactive iodine or palladium are placed inside the prostate gland, where they emit radiation that kills the tumor cells. The radiation in each implant lasts about two years, which is long enough to kill the cancer cells.

Seed therapy has about the same cure rate and side effects as external radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Seed therapy is only used for tumors that have not metastasized outside the prostate. The initial seed implantation causes some discomfort, but the patient can usually return to his usual routine in a day or two.

Radiation treatment for prostate cancer is successful when the cancer is diagnosed early. Many men prefer it to surgery because it is less invasive.

Side Effects Of Radiation Treatment For Prostate Cancer

Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer: Forewarning

Radiation therapy, because of its numerous side effects, is seen as the last resort treatment for prostate cancer. That is why the people usually opting for radiation therapy are also those patients who have already gone through and tried all other options, and thus making a relatively safe procedure of radiation therapy having the highest mortality rate.

For all its worth, radiation therapy is the least enveloping cancer treatment. That alone speaks of the least complications.

The Side Effects of Radiation Therapy on Prostate Cancer are expected. Except the risk of another cancer, it is the same with all other the treatment for prostate cancer: infertility, impotence, bowel and/ or urinary incontinence. Another danger is the damage of the epithelial surface of the skin where the radiation had hit. There is also the collateral radiation damage, this damage of the surrounding tissues where it may hit some vital organs less resilient to the effects of radiation. The gonads are likely to be hit, thus causing infertility. Risks include severe urinary frequency or urgency, rectal problems, hair loss, and damage to the surrounding tissues. Another most commonly noticed symptoms is fatigue but the exact cause is unknown.

After Side Effects of Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer:

Incontinence is important destructive part effect caused by radiation treatment.
There are chances of injuring the urinary part during this procedure. Due to this reason a weak urine flow and even the inability to urinate. This condition is very painful and would be a hindrance to one's normal activities. In some cases, blood in the urine and/or semen can be found. Burning sensation during urination and pain in the lower back are signs of prostate cancer as well. Serious incontinence cases though are rare, affecting 1% - 3% of the men undergoing radiation treatment. Though the symptoms will usually go away the longest in a year, it is permanent in less than 1% of the radiation treated men.

Other crucial Side Effects of Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer is impotence - complexity in having a composition, even if the sexual drive is still present. Older practice of radiation treatment have long been considered complicating due to the numerous of side effects and complications that follow suit. And there were cases where the quality of life is compromised: infertility, impotence, incontinence, dryness, and another cancer becomes a problem post operation using radiation treatment.

Causes by Side Effects of Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer:

Infertility is another problem caused by Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer. Enlarged prostate or medically termed, as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a condition of the prostate that grows beyond its ordinary size. Prostate development is a natural biological process in men. Radiation to the testicles can cause permanent loss of sperm production. Unless the cancer is in the testicles, they can usually be protected from radiation by using a "clam shell" type of shield. Radiation therapy to the pelvis can cause problems with erections by damaging the arteries and nerves that supply the penis. The higher the dose of radiation and the wider the section of the pelvis irradiated, the greater the chance that an erection problem will develop. Testosterone is a male hormone that plays an important role in erections. Some men have less testosterone after pelvic radiation. The testicles, which produce testosterone, may have been affected either by a mild dose of scattered radiation or by the general stress of cancer treatment. The testosterone level will usually recover within 6 months of radiation therapy. However, if a man notices erection problems or low desire after cancer treatment, the doctor may decide to do a blood test to find out if testosterone is low. Some men can take testosterone to get low levels back to normal. Men with prostate cancer should know that replacement testosterone can speed up the growth of prostate cancer cells

But with Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment, the beam is precisely directed, with range and peak closely monitored. That means even if in a depth, the Radiation Therapy can still burn off tissues without having the need for a highly invasive surgery.

Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment

The majority of men will develop an enlarged prostate sometime in their lifetime. The symptoms include: difficulting in starting urination, weak flow of urination, need to urinate frequently.

Men that suffer from these symptoms should seek medical advice to ensure that it only an enlarged prostate that is causing the problem, and not prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second largest cause of cancer deaths among men, second only to lung cancer. One of the problems with prostate cancer, is that the symptoms typically do not show up in the early stages of the disease, and when they do manifest themselves, it is often in the late stages of the disease and makes it difficult to treat.

The main symptoms of prostate cancer include the same symptoms as an enlarged prostate, but the advanced stages also include: Pain in back, hips and thighs; unexplained weight loss; feeling of tiredness.

Most prostate cancers are treated by surgery or radiation therapy. At the present time, there is not a good chemotherapy option for the early stages of prostate cancer. Surgery is the most common method of treating the early stages of prostate cancer. But there are risks with any type of surgery, and many men are turning to radiation treatment.

Radiation therapy works by killing the cancer cells and not killing the adjacent healthy cells. The two most common methods for radiation therapy include seed therapy and external beam radiation therapy.

Seed therapy involves implanting a small amount (a seed) of radioactive material in the prostate. The radioactive material will last about two years, in which time the cancerous cells have been killed.

External Beam radiation therapy is a painless, out patient procedure where a beam is aimed at the affected areas. If the area has spread, the radiation can be aimed at it as well. The treatment takes place five days a week over a seven week period.

The side effects of prostrate cancer radiation treatment include incontinence, impotence, and fatigue. Not all patients suffer from these side effects.

Treatment for the early stages of prostate cancer is usually successful. However, if the prostate cancer is not identified in its early stages, then the success rate drops dramatically. This is why all men over the age of 50 should have a yearly check up to identify prostrate cancer early.

Radiation Seeds For Prostate Cancer - What They Are and How They Can Help

If caught early, prostate cancer treatment has a reasonable success rate. As it is a slow developing cancer in most cases, treatment is aimed at curing the patient unless the cancer has spread to surrounding bone. In this case, treatment is aimed at prolonging life and reducing prostate cancer symptoms.

Radiation seeds for prostate cancer are a form of a treatment known as Brachytherapy., and are usually only suitable when the cancer is localised to the prostate and has not spread. The most common form of Brachytherapy involves iodine seed implants that are put below the prostate. These give a small dose of radiation over several months to the prostate cancer cells. It is considered that radiation seeds such as these have a low risk of any major side effects and the procedure is often straightforward.

The decision as to which treatment to use for prostate cancer is ultimately up to the patient, although a doctor will advise the best course of action. The course of action recommended will depend on the severity of the cancer, how advanced it is and whether it is spread or not.

It usually takes some time before symptoms of prostate cancer start to appear, as they only begin when the cancer grows large enough to put pressure on the urethra. Once this happens the man may have irregular and painful urine flow amongst other things. If symptoms of prostate cancer are observed then it is always advisable to contact your doctor immediately to see whether a scan is required.

Possible Side Effects Of Radiation Treatment For Prostate Cancer

Despite the precautions taken to give the radiotherapy as accurately as possible there will always be some side effects associated with radiotherapy to the prostate gland even with “best treatment”. This is partly because to reach the prostate gland from the outside the X-rays have to pass through normal tissues (bladder, bowel, skin) and partly because an area around the prostate gland needs to be treated in case the prostate is in a slightly different position each day (e.g. because the bladder is filled to a different extent) and because it can treat any cancer cells which are trying to invade out of the prostate gland itself.

EARLY SIDE EFFECTS

a. Tiredness and Fatigue – most patients receiving radiotherapy will feel tired especially towards the end of treatment.

b. Skin reaction – this is usually very mild with prostate cancer treatment and may be a slight pinking of the skin or sometimes a sore back passage

c. Diarrhoea – the x-rays will have to pass through some of your bowel to reach the prostate gland and this can irritate the bowel and cause diarrhoea, it can usually be well controlled by medication

d. Cystitis – a burning feeling when you pass water is due to irritation of the bladder by the X-rays on their way to the prostate gland

e. Piles – these can often flare up during treatment

f. Loss of Hair – you may lose some of your pubic hair where the x-rays pass through the skin but this normally grows back after treatment finishes, the hair on you head will not be affected

g. Impotence – radiotherapy may make it difficult for you to have or maintain an erection

LATE SIDE EFFECTS

In a small number of patients permanent damage to bowel or bladder may occur and can sometimes require treatment. In some men the impotence fails to recover.

While there are forms of alternative prostate cancer treatment, the above are considered to be the proven techniques and procedures.

Possible Side Effects of Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy For Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer has many possible treatments, and often different treatments are used together to achieve the best results. One method of treatment is Brachytherapy, which is when a number of radiation seeds are implanted into the tumour in the prostate gland. The seeds then give a dose of radiation to the tumour over a period of time, usual several months although this varies.

Brachytherapy is a different form of radiotherapy, but has the same principle. The idea of the therapy is to use radiation to kill the cancerous cells. In the case of radiation seeds, the seeds provide the dose of radiation required. The levels of radiation are not harmful to the rest of the body, but can cause long and short term side effect. Most of the side effects of Brachytherapy are the same as radiotherapy, although there are some small differences.

Radiotherapy for prostate cancer can cause the following short term side effects:

Diarrhea

Loss of pubic hair

Tiredness

Cystitis - causes painful urination

Radiotherapy for prostate cancer can cause the following long term side effects:

Inability of difficulty in achieving an erection

Urinary Incontinence

However, radiation seeds (Brachytherapy) has a lower chance of causing urinary incontinence compared to normal radiotherapy.

With all radiotherapy these is an approximately 33% chance that the cancer will return in the future after it has been killed by the radiation.

Radiotherapy is often used together with hormone therapy to achieve the most successful results. For example, hormone therapy (which blocks the testosterone the cancer needs to grow) is often performed before radiotherapy. Patients always have the final say as to which treatment they want to use, but the doctor will advise what he or she thinks is the best course of action.

Brachytherapy Showing Promise For More Than Prostate Cancer

Brachytherapy has shown promise for a few different forms of cancer and even for arteries which were unplugged from angioplasty. Low-dose rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy is generally well tolerated in patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease. Episcleral plaque brachytherapy is a complex procedure and should only be undertaken in specialized medical centers with expertise in this sophisticated treatment program. It is not yet known whether interstitial (within the tissue) brachytherapy is more effective with or without external-beam radiation therapy in treating prostate cancer.

The most common uses of this form of treatment involves the planting of radioactive seeds through 18 gauge needles into the prostate via a perineal template with rectal ultrasound guidance. High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy is one of the latest advances in this type of treatment method as it's very effective for treatment of cervical cancer as an alternative to surgical removal of the cervix and uterus. Additionally, HDR brachytherapy is used to reduce the risk of recurrence of soft tissue sarcoma following surgery.

Permanent prostate brachytherapy is a form of low dose chemical implants (up to 120) rice-sized radioactive seeds into the prostate with guidance from ultrasound and X-rays. Low-dose rate treatment is also used in the treatment of coronary artery disease to prevent restenosis after angioplasty. High-dose rate (HDR) is usually an outpatient procedure.

Breast brachytherapy is a more localized means of treatment than standard external beam radiotherapy, so there is a lesser dose to undamaged tissue of the breast, heart, lung, muscle, skin and ribs. LDR (low dose) brachytherapy is the most commonly used of the two. LDR and HDR Brachytherapy is performed under anesthesia, and radioactive "seeds" are each placed in needles that are inserted into the target through the perineum (the area between the legs, scrotum and anus).

LDR brachytherapy makes use of iodine-125 and palladium-103 stored in titanium cases usually referred to as the "seeds". A big advantage of HDR brachytherapy is that the final doses are known before any radiation treatment is given.

Presently, at Wake Forest Baptist in North Carolina, cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, cervix and nasopharynx are being successfully treated with HDR brachytherapy. Endobronchial brachytherapy is an outpatient procedure again using radioactive sources placed within a bronchus (airway) to treat patients suffering from airway obstruction due to lung cancer and other tumors.

The utilization of brachytherapy is highly dependent on the experience of the physician and the available resources although, the flexibility of the HDR system allows it to be used for a wide range of malignancies.

HDR brachytherapy is most commonly used with cancers located near the outside of the body but with MRI assisted techniques, it's possible to adjust the isodose dissemination by taking into account tumor size and features as well as the topography of the risked organs.

Though it's true that HDR brachytherapy is currently used for the treatment of cervix cancer in the UK, most of the techniques are based on standard triple applicator procedures. While brachytherapy is not commonly used for the treatment of vulval cancer in the UK, there are some options for the management of these rare patients with small vulval or vaginal situations which are not surgical candidates.

Before the development of this type of treatment, surgery was the only option but now prostate brachytherapy is an alternative to traditional external beam radiation or surgery for men who have early stage prostate cancer (cancer that has not spread outside the prostate gland). The most common hindrance preventing brachytherapy is when there is benign prostatic hypertrophy and the long term prognosis for retaining erectile function after brachytherapy is similar to or slightly better than with surgery or external beam radiation.

Proton brachytherapy is considered the method of choice as opposed to neutron brachytherapy for treating small tumors for the fact that protons don't relocatd as far as neutrons. HDR treatment is given over the course of several minutes, but the entire procedure typically takes a few hours. Once a course of HDR is started, the treatment plan and computer guided isodose calculations are finished within 24 to 36 hours.

As always it's wise to discuss any new treatment options with your trusted doctor and/or cardiologist with experience in radiation therapy to see if brachytherapy is just what the doctor ordered for your unique situation.

Prostate Cancer Treatment For Those With Recurrent Prostate Cancer

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer for the first time will more than likely be traumatic for you and your loved ones, being diagnosed with recurrent prostate cancer can be devastating. Your doctor will prescribe a prostate cancer treatment plan that is designed to help you beat this disease. For those who have recurrent prostate cancer, there are many prostate cancer treatment that your physician may advise you to try.

Radiation Therapy

One prostate cancer treatment option is radiation therapy. This prostate cancer treatment includes the use of radiation of high energy from protons, neutrons, gamma rays and x-rays, as well as other sources to kill the cancerous cells and to shrink any existing tumors. There are two ways that radiation therapy can be administered as prostate cancer treatment. The first is from a machine that is located outside your body called external beam radiation therapy, or you may have material that is radioactive that is placed in your body near where the cancer is located. This is referred to as internal radiation therapy.

Hormone Therapy

Another prostate cancer treatment your doctor may employ is hormone therapy. This prostate cancer treatment will remove, block or add hormones. When you are suffering with recurrent prostate cancer, hormone therapy may aid in preventing the growth of the cancer. It is also used as a cancer treatment for breast cancer as well.

Prostatectomy

If you are not responding to conventional methods of prostate cancer treatment, your doctor may suggest that you have a prostatectomy. This is an operation that will remove some or all of the prostate. When you have a radical or total prostatectomy, the surgical team will remove the entire prostate gland as well as surrounding tissue.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a common prostate cancer treatment as well as a treatment for a host of other types of cancer. Chemotherapy can come with a lot of side effects and if this is the course of prostate cancer treatment your doctor recommends, you will learn about the possible side effects you may suffer with this treatment option. There may be other prostate cancer treatment other then those mentioned that your doctor will discuss at length with you.

The Value Of Exercise During Radiation Therapy For Breast And Prostate Cancer

Complementary medicine integrates non-Western treatment methods into mainstream medical practice. Examples include light exercise, guided imagery, massage, yoga, reiki, tai chi, acupuncture, music therapy, and art therapy.

In the oncology area, these modalities can help to reduce side effects and thereby enhance a person's physical and/or emotional tolerance to treatment. People thus feel better during what might otherwise be a very difficult period of cancer treatment.

Fatigue is a common symptom during cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can stem from the underlying illness, insomnia/sleep deprivation, anxiety, and/or the cancer treatment itself. Helping people manage and reduce fatigue is an important component in enhancing their overall well-being. After all, oncologists strive to treat the whole person and not just the disease.

The mechanism of fatigue in radiation therapy is not known. Often, it is not purely radiation treatment induced, but rather, is due to one or more of the factors outlined above.

In people with breast and prostate cancer, the National Cancer Institute undertook a randomized controlled study of cancer related fatigue in 38 individuals. 27 were women with breast cancer and 11 were men with prostate cancer. All received at least 30 radiation treatments, five days a week for six weeks.

Baseline tests to assess fatigue, strength, and cardiovascular heath were performed before the people received radiation therapy. The study compared a half the people in the group who followed an exercise program to the half who were randomized to receive radiation therapy without exercise therapy.

The program consisted of moderate, home-based use of resistance bands and walking. Of the participants in the trial, the average age was 60. Half the people received chemotherapy and 84% endured surgery. Participants were enthusiastic and 95% of them completed the prescribed exercise course

The exercise group was required to take walks daily and to try to increase the number of steps taken each day. They wore pedometers and kept a diary. In addition, they were assigned to complete 11 resistance band exercises daily, performing one set of eight to 15 repetitions daily and gradually increasing to three to four sets. Results revealed an 82% increase in the number of steps walked daily and the use of resistance bands an average of 3 1/2 days per week for 20 minutes at a moderate intensity level.

Those who exercised maintained their stamina during radiation therapy and improved their aerobic capacity. Also, they were able to walk faster and further in only four weeks and they experienced less cancer related fatigue than the control group. In fact, the control subjects demonstrated a decline in their baseline muscle strength.

The mechanism by which exercise alleviates fatigue is not clear. Although this study is small and more clinical trials will be helpful, the results suggest that when exercise is non-burdensome, safe and feasible, it serves as an inexpensive, valuable tool in improving the quality of life of cancer survivors.

Prostate Seed Implants: A Promising Treatment For Prostate Cancer

Prostate brachytherapy (pronounced bray-kee-ther-uh-pee), the implantation of radioactive seeds into the prostate gland, is one of the standard methods of successfully treating prostate cancer. The tiny radioactive seeds are smaller than grains of rice.

A prostate seed implant may be the only type of radiation therapy needed by a man with low-risk prostate cancer or it may be prescribed in addition to external beam radiation therapy in men with intermediate- and high- risk prostate cancer. The goal is to eradicate cancer cells while preserving healthy, surrounding tissue, such as the bladder, the urethra (the tube that connects the bladder to the penis), and the rectum.

The advantages of prostate seed implants are significant. Fist, the procedure requires only minor surgery, usually causing fewer side effects than other treatments. Also, it is generally a same day, outpatient procedure. Men usually are able to return to work within several days, as long as they feel well enough. In addition, recent reports suggest that the procedure, when performed on properly selected men, is at least as effective as surgery to cure prostate cancer. Radiation exposure to other people is minimal, so restrictions do not apply unless the man is returning to a setting where a young child or pregnant woman is present.

Treatment Planning

Men undergo a pre-implant ultrasound study to determine where the radioactive seeds (and the needles to implant them) should be placed. A transrectal ultrasound, wherein an ultrasound probe is carefully positioned in the rectum to view the entire prostate, is performed. Images of the prostate are taken and are transferred to a special treatment planning computer, which evaluates the position of the prostate and generates a three-dimensional plan that dictates the precise placement of the seeds.

Preparation for the Procedure

Most candidates for prostate brachytherapy undergo blood tests, a chest x-ray and an EKG several days prior to the implant, in order to be approved for anesthesia. On the morning of the procedure, men receive an enema to help optimize the quality of the transrectal ultrasound images. In addition, blood thinners are discontinued several days prior to the procedure to help diminish the risk of bleeding.

Day of the Procedure

Typically, men who are scheduled to undergo seed placement arrive early in the morning. Next, the man is taken to the operating room for the procedure, where he undergoes either general or spinal anesthesia. Then, the radiation oncologist and the urologist work as a team to implant the seeds into the prostate, using transrectal ultrasound to guide the placement.

The Implant Process

Using the treatment plan and fluoroscopy (real-time x-ray), the radiation oncologist places the seeds within the prostate. The entire procedure usually takes less than one hour. After the seed placement, the urologist performs a cystoscopy (a procedure in which a slender, flexible, fiber optic scope is inserted from the penis into the bladder), to look for and remove any seeds that dislodged in the bladder or the urethra. Within the few next days, a CT scan is obtained to verify the placement of the seeds.

Prostate Seed Implants: Recovery

Because prostate implants do not involve major surgery, side effects are rarely severe. The most common side effects reported by men after prostate seed implants are:

• Urinary frequency (60-70%)

• Urinary burning (50%)

• Urinary urgency (50%)

• Erectile dysfunction (30%)

• Blood in the urine (20-30%)

• Increased bowel movements and bowel urgency (5%)

• Fatigue (20%)

• Pelvic pain (20%)

• The need for temporary catheter placement (10-15%)

• Urinary incontinence (less than 1%)

In addition, up to 20 percent of men are found to have seed migration into their lungs. However, no detrimental effects have been reported. Infrequently, men have required trans-urethral resection, the “scraping” of the prostate gland via the penis, to relieve urinary obstruction after the seed placement.

Follow-Up

Men who undergo prostate brachytherapy report for follow-up visits four weeks after the procedure and every three months thereafter. A PSA blood test and a physical exam are performed to assess the status of the prostate.

The good news is that prostate seed implants are usually successful at controlling prostate cancer within the gland. Such local control of disease correlates with rendering men free from prostate cancer.

Radioactive Seed Implants - A Promising Way of Treating Prostate Cancer

Various types of treatment for prostate cancer have been studied and approved by science. One of the proven ways of treatment is radioactive therapy. One approach in treatment is called radioactive seed implants and there is also an option for radiation beam in killing cancer cells which is, of course, another way of treatment.

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation treatment in which tiny pellets containing radioactive material, such as Iodine-125, are implanted directly into the tumor containing organ. This form of radiation therapy has long been used in other types of malignancies including cervical, breast, endometrial as well as head and neck cancers. It offers the appealing concept of delivering high doses of radiation to the prostate while limiting the exposure to the adjacent organs.

Radiation Treatment Really Works:

Radiation kills cancer cells by interfering with their ability to reproduce. The radiation oncologist places the metallic radioactive "seeds"; (either Iodine 125 or Palladium 103) into the prostate gland guided by ultrasound. The seeds only give a high dose of radiation to a small area, minimizing damage to the surrounding tissue. Studies have shown that these seeds effectively destroy cancer cells.

This type of procedure in treating prostate cancer usually lasts with one to two hours together with an anesthesia administered to the patient. Men who have small or medium-sized prostates or those who have low-grade prostate cancers are recommended to undergo this procedure.

The implanted radioactive seeds do not require removal after its use. It constantly provides radiation treatment on the cancer cells for a year. The patient is to stay away from pregnant women because the radiation might have undesirable side effects on the baby.

Radiation emitted from the implanted radioactive seeds is effective in just a few millimeters from the patient's location. In some cases, the patient's urethra has been affected, thus giving way to painful urination. A doctor's prescription might be needed in cases like this in order to recognize whether medication is required.

Precautions while Radiation Treatment:

Every man considering radiation therapy should be aware of all the side effects of radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Most of these are life changing and while it may save your life from deadly cancer, it may irrevocably change the way you use to enjoy it. Here are all the side effects of radiation treatment for prostate cancer and its causes.

A patient should carefully choose a procedure most appropriate for his condition. Comparison with other available treatment choices is a good decision in order for one to have the right choice for his body and well being. Always consider the side effects associated with any procedure you undergo. These side effects may only be temporary but others are permanent. A doctor's participation is really necessary for this kind of task since doctors are in better position to know what would be the most effective procedure for your condition.