Prostate Cancer
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Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Facts About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer
Screening for Prostate Cancer
Facts About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
- There are over 3200 new cases of Prostate Cancer diagnosed every year
- One in six men will get prostate cancer in his lifetime. However, only one in 34 men will die of the disease.
- The 5 year survival rate is 93% in Ireland
Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer
- Age: The chance of getting prostate cancer goes up as men age. About two-thirds of prostate cancers are found in men over age 65.
- Family history: Men with a father or brother with prostate cancer are more likely to get it themselves.
Screening for Prostate Cancer
- According to the American Cancer Society, men age 50 or older should be offered a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a blood test to check the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA). There is however significant debate about this opportunistic screening. There is no evidence that a screening program is appropriate for Prostate Cancer.
Diagnosing Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is most often found through a blood test measuring the amount of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the body. Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer have no symptoms and only find their cancer due to screening. However, sometimes prostate cancer can cause symptoms. Some signs to look for include:
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Treating Prostate Cancer
If you find out you have cancer, you should discuss your treatment options with a radiation oncologist, a cancer doctor who specialises in treating disease with radiation therapy, and a urologist, a surgeon who specialises in the urinary tract. Options for dealing with prostate cancer include:
External Beam Radiation Therapy
External beam radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) involves a series of daily treatments to accurately deliver radiation to the prostate. There are several ways to deliver external beam radiation.
Possible side effects include fatigue, increased frequency or discomfort of urination, and loose bowel movements. These usually go away a few weeks after completing treatments. Longer term side effects may include a slightly altered bowel habit and an increase in the frequency of urination at night. Impotence is also a possible side effect of any treatment for prostate cancer. However, many patients who receive radiation therapy for prostate cancer are able to maintain sexual function. Rectal bleeding may occur 1-2 years after the radiotherapy, but generally no active treatment is required and the bleeding often stops after a period of time.
If you find out you have cancer, you should discuss your treatment options with a radiation oncologist, a cancer doctor who specialises in treating disease with radiation therapy, and a urologist, a surgeon who specialises in the urinary tract. Options for dealing with prostate cancer include:
- Surgery.
- External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
- Prostate brachytherapy.
- Hormone therapy.
- Chemotherapy.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
External beam radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) involves a series of daily treatments to accurately deliver radiation to the prostate. There are several ways to deliver external beam radiation.
- Before treatment, you will have a scan to allow the radiation oncologist to target the radiation on the cancer. Usually several radiation beams are combined to shape, or “conform”, the radiation to the prostate cancer. This technique is called three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or 3D-CRT. Tailoring each of the radiation beams to accurately focus on the tumour allows doctors to target the prostate cancer while keeping radiation away from nearby organs such as the bladder or rectum.
- Sometimes a type of 3D-CRT called intensity modulated radiation therapy or IMRT is needed. IMRT allows doctors to change the intensity of the radiation within each of the radiation beams. In some cases, this lets doctors increase the radiation to the prostate while reducing radiation to nearby normal tissues.
Possible side effects include fatigue, increased frequency or discomfort of urination, and loose bowel movements. These usually go away a few weeks after completing treatments. Longer term side effects may include a slightly altered bowel habit and an increase in the frequency of urination at night. Impotence is also a possible side effect of any treatment for prostate cancer. However, many patients who receive radiation therapy for prostate cancer are able to maintain sexual function. Rectal bleeding may occur 1-2 years after the radiotherapy, but generally no active treatment is required and the bleeding often stops after a period of time.
Prostate Brachytherapy
Prostate brachytherapy involves treating the cancer by inserting radioactive sources directly into the gland.
- Permanent seed implants are performed by inserting small metal seeds of radioactive iodine directly into the gland under anesthesia. The seeds are temporarily radioactive and deliver the radiation to the prostate over several months. After losing their radioactivity, the seeds remain in the prostate and are harmless..
- High-dose-rate prostate implants deliver radiation to the prostate with one treatment using a single small radioactive iridium source on the end of a computer controlled flexible wire. The radiation is delivered through narrow tubes called catheters inserted into the prostate by your radiation oncologist. You will be under anesthesia and will not feel pain. The tubes remain in place for only a few hours. Once the treatment is complete, the tubes and the radioactive source are taken out. After this type of radiation, you will not need to take special precautions around others.
Depending on your cancer, prostate brachytherapy may be combined with external beam radiation therapy. The side effects from these treatments are similar to those seen with external beam radiation therapy, such as urinary frequency, discomfort on urination or bowel irritation. Medication helps control these symptoms that typically go away within a few months after treatment.
Hormone Therapy
Depending on your cancer, you may benefit from adding hormone therapy to radiation.
- Works by starving the tumour of the male hormones it needs to grow. This may make your radiation therapy treatments work better.
- May be used together with radiation therapy or before radiation to shrink the tumour.