Prostate Radiotherapy

There are different types of prostate cancer treatment options for men who have different stages of tumor development. There is low, intermediate and high risk localized and locally advanced prostate cancer and then tumors that return after initial treatment. Due to advancing research there is a lot of prostate cancer information on hand for patients to further their knowledge of the condition.

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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.

Prostate Cancer radiation treatment has a long history and has been used right from 1915. The first techniques resulted in morbidity and did not penetrate deeply to irradiate the tumors and also caused skin cancer. By the 1980s the linear accelerator was being used by oncologists, that helped to increase the speed of high energy particles and improved the beam's process aiming at the targeted area.

The choice and implementation of proper treatments for locally advanced prostate cancer are maybe the most complicated challenges which the physician and his or her patients face. The treatment alternatives for the cancer consist of radiotherapy, watchful waiting (observation), hormonal therapy, and surgery.

Treatment for prostate cancer has involved radiation therapy since 1915. At that time the results were not very satisfactory as the radiation beams did not penetrate deeply to irradiate the cancerous tumors and resulted in skin cancer and morbidity. However by the 1980s equipment like the linear accelerator was used by oncologists.

Radiation therapy used to treat prostate cancer is of two types: Brachytherapy and XRT (external radiation therapy). The external radiation therapy is called radiotherapy. 3D-CRT (Three dimensional conformal radiation therapy) and IMRT (Intensity modulated radiation therapy) are the new forms of EBRT. This prostate radiation therapy is non-invasive and aims high energy particles at the cancerous tissue.

Prostate cancer is a major killer of men! How is it then that in a poll 96% of men knew nothing at all about the prostate gland. Prostate Cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer in the USA and UK. Next to lung cancer it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the USA.

Prostate Cancer has unfortunately presented itself as one of the most common male cancers within the western world. There is much information about the disease on the Internet, some helpful some less so. It is therefore essential that the patient seeks out the facts and is regular contact with their doctor.