Knowing the various treatments for
prostate cancer available and what the risks associated with each are is the
first step in being informed about what will be one of the most important
decisions of your life. The potential side effects of some of the treatments
are too life altering to leave this decision to chance.
Have a discussion with your doctor.
Ask questions about any side effects you need to be aware of. While your
treatment options become less viable if your cancer has progressed beyond your
prostate gland, it is important to be aware of what to expect after the
treatment has been completed.
Here are some of the options open to
you.
Surgery
Surgical options available are as
follows.
A complete prostatectomy where your
entire prostate gland is removed A lymph node dissection
where only the nodes surrounding the urethra are removed A
transurethral resection is done in which small pieces of your prostate are
removed
Each of the above procedures
requires a hospital stay and you would be anesthetized and put under. They are
effective in most cases although cancers have been known to return weeks or
months afterward. As well, side effects can include urinary incontinence,
impotence and infertility.
Radiotherapy
There are 2 common approaches to
radiation therapy in treating prostate cancer, external beam radiotherapy and
brachytherapy.
External beam radiotherapy is a
procedure where a high energy radioactive source is used to project a beam at
your prostate from a short distance outside your pelvic area. There is no
anesthesia required and it is done on an out-patient basis. It is typically
done on 5 consecutive days over a period of about 5 to 7 weeks.
Brachytherapy is the usage of about
100 to 150 small radioactive pellets or seeds. They are placed directly into
your prostate with a syringe a few at a time; it usually takes up to 40
injections to implant them all. This procedure is painful and requires a general
anesthetic.
These two procedures use
radioactivity to burn away cancerous cells. Side effects include impotence,
inflammation of the bladder and rectum and cancers have been known to return.
Chemotherapy
Drugs known to be toxic to cancerous
cells are introduced to your body. It is used to slow cancerous growths and
relieve pain. It is not a cure but it can be used to help patients where cures
through other means are not possible.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
(HIFU)
HIFU is a procedure that uses sound
waves to destroy cancerous cells. A focused ultrasound beam is aimed only at
the regions of the prostate that are diseased with cancer. The cells targeted
are destroyed using heat. Surrounding tissue is not affected by the beam and
remains undamaged.
The entire prostate can be exposed
to the ultrasound beam in about three hours. The procedure is done quickly and
is effective in eradicating prostate cancer in over 90% of patients treated.
Side effects are minimal resulting in urinary incontinence in only 5% of
patients. Only 8% suffered urethral blockage and about 40% suffered sexual
impotence. Impotence drops to 20% in patients whose cancer does not affect the
prostate nerve.
These reasons alone make HIFU the
choice you should make when thinking about prostate cancer treatment options.
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