Radiation

Radiation treatment for prostate cancer uses x-rays to kill the cancer cells. There are actually two different types of radiation therapy for prostate cancer. In one type of radiation therapy (brachytherapy or seed therapy) radioactive pellets-or "seeds"-are injected into the man's prostate gland. In the other type of radiation treatment the radiation is received through an x-ray type machine. This type of radiation treatment is called external beam radiation therapy.

When a person's prostate cancer is treated using the x-ray type machine, the therapy is given about five days a week for seven weeks. It can be pretty time-consuming. But the plus side of this treatment is that the man does not need to have any anesthesia. Also, the side effects that come from this kind of radiation treatment are much more mild than the seed therapy treatment.

Seed therapy also has pros and cons. Seed therapy patients do have to receive anesthesia and will feel more discomfort than those receiving the other type of radiation therapy, but this treatment can be done during one hospital visit. With seed therapy, the patient can return home soon after the treatment session.

Why radiation treatment

Patients may decide to have radiation therapy for a number of reasons. One reason may be that they do not have to worry about any of the risks that come with surgery, they also do not have a risk of bleeding and they are able to recover faster. This type of treatment may also be good for someone who would not like to stay in a hospital and would like to continue their usual activities during treatment.

Surgery (radical prostatectomy)

A man, who has prostate cancer but is otherwise in good health, can choose to have radical prostatectomy as his form of treatment. In this form of prostate cancer treatment, the patient will have the entire prostate removed, as well as any lymph nodes that are nearby.

Since radical prostatectomy is surgery, the patient will have a hospital stay of about two or three days and have to have a catheter for about two to three weeks after. After about a month they should be able to go back to work and they'll regain bladder control within a few weeks to a few months post surgery.

It is possible for men to lose a lot of blood during the surgery. And some of the other risks of this type of prostate cancer treatment include: impotence (which is the inability to get or to keep an erection long enough that they'll be able to have sex), and incontinence (which is the lack of bladder control.)

Why choose surgery

One of the biggest reasons why men suffering from prostate cancer choose to have surgery is because it usually gives the man the best chance to be cured from cancer. So, despite the cons of surgery, many men with prostate cancer choose surgery in hopes of being cured.

Watchful waiting

Since a lot of prostate cancers tend to be small and grow very slowly some men choose to just wait on treatment and keep an eye on the tumor. Some men, who have these types of slow-growing tumors, have similar life expectancies as men who do not have cancer. So instead of dealing with the side-effects of treatment they may decide not to go through any type treatment at all.

Watchful waiting is a personal choice, and has risks just as the other cancer treatments. It is hard to know if the tumor is definitely a slow-growing tumor. Hopefully a person will be able to begin treatment if their tumor does begin to grow quickly.

Hormones

Androgens are male hormones that are produced mainly in the testicles. These male hormones help a prostate tumor to grow. So, to shrink the tumor, a patient can receive hormone therapy to lower the level of their male hormones. Many times this type of treatment is used for patients whose cancer has grown and spread past the prostate gland.