Medical Treatments for Prostate Cancer

There are many different medical treatments for prostate cancer that involve the clinical care of a healthcare professional. These treatments include expectant therapy, surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. Expectant therapy is to carefully observe and monitor the prostate cancer. Because prostate cancer cells often spread very slowly, many older men who have the disease may not need more extensive treatment. However, expectant therapy usually includes routine physician examinations, including digital rectal exams and PSA tests. The different types of surgery for prostate cancer are radical prostatectomy - an open-surgery procedure in which the entire prostate gland and surrounding tissue are removed. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) - surgery to remove part of the prostate gland that surrounds the urethra. Cryosurgery - this procedure involves killing the cancer cells by freezing them with a small metal tool placed in the tumor. Side effects of prostate cancer surgery include incontinence and impotence. Incontinence is the inability to control urine and may result in dribbling of urine, especially immediately after surgery. Normal control usually returns within weeks or months after surgery. Impotence is the inability to achieve an erection. For a month, or so, after surgery, most men are not able to get an erection. Eventually, approximately 40 to 60 percent of men will be able to get an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse, but without ejaculation of semen, since removal of the prostate gland prevents that process.

Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill or shrink cancer cells, and to decrease their ability to divide. Radiation is often used to treat prostate cancer that is still confined to the prostate gland, or has spread only to nearby tissue. If the disease is advanced, radiation may be used to reduce the size of the tumor and to provide relief from symptoms. Possible side effects of radiation for prostate cancer may include diarrhea, with or without blood in the stool, and colitis, problems associated with urination, a degree of impotence (inability to get an erection), which may occur within two years of radiation therapy.

The goal of hormone therapy is to lower the level of male hormones in the body, particularly testosterone. Hormone therapy does not cure the cancer, and is often used to treat persons whose cancer has spread or recurred after treatment. Produced mainly in the testicles, testosterone causes prostate cancer cells to grow. Thus, reduced testosterone levels can make the prostate cancer shrink and become less active. Most studies show that hormone therapy works better if it is started early. Chemotherapy is the use of powerful, anti-cancer medications to kill cancer cells.. Hospitalization may be needed to monitor treatment and chemotherapy's side effects. Common side effects of chemotherapy include: nausea and vomiting, hair loss, anemia, reduced ability of blood to clot, mouth sores, increased likelihood of developing infections, fatigue. Most side effects disappear once treatment is stopped.

cancer implant prostate seed
Alternative Prostate Cancer Treatment Options, Seed Implants
Prostate cancer treatment options, cure & information. Prostate Seed implants, radiation oncology, high dose radiation therapy are alternative prostate

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center - Prostate seed implants
Radioactive prostate seed implant therapy is not effective for all prostate cancer patients. It depends on the stage of the cancer, the size of the prostate

Prostate cancer guide - MayoClinic.com
Radioactive seed implants are injected directly into the prostate and are being used more frequently as a treatment for prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer, The Cancer Information Network
Radiation for Prostate Cancer - This is the web site of a private radiation treatment center. It provides very useful information about seed implant

Prostate Seed Implant - PSI
Prostate seed implant or PSI is a procedure that is performed for the treatment of some patients with prostate cancer. The first PSI procedures at Pitt

Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy Prostate Seed Implant
cancer patients may consider brachytherapy prostate seed implants.

Chicago Prostate Cancer Center | Frequently Asked Questions
The doctor said that my cancer has spread beyond my prostate, can I still have a seed implant? Seed implant may still be a treatment option for you in

Prostate Cancer Radioactive Seed Implants - WebMD
Radioactive seed implants are a form of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, also known as brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy.

Prostate Cancer: Seeds Beat Out Watchful Waiting
Oct. 31, 2007 (Los Angeles) -- Older men with prostate cancer who chose treatment with radiation seed implant therapy or surgery cut their risk of dying of

Cancer Treatment: Radiation Seed Implant Decreases Risk Of Death
3, 2007) â” Prostate cancer patients cut their risk of dying of the disease in half when they receive radiation seed implants (brachytherapy) to treat their

Radiation Seeds Effectively Cure Prostate Cancer In Young Men
Radiation seed implants are just as effective at curing prostate cancer in younger men (aged 60 and younger) as they are in older men, according to a study

Permanent Brachytherapy Seed Implants and Prostate Cancer
Permanent brachytherapy is a prostate cancer treatment.

Introduction - Prostate Seed Implants - Greenebaum Cancer Center
Prostate brachytherapy, the placement of radioactive seeds in the prostate gland, is the fastest growing method of treating prostate cancer in the United

Prostate Seed Implants Impair Quality Of Life
Researchers compared quality of life in 48 prostate cancer patients who received seed implants, with or without external beam radiation, with quality of

Prostate High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy
Treatments like the radical prostatectomy and permanent seed implant alone may miss cancer cells which have escaped outside the prostate into the

Stanford Cancer Center - Prostate Seed Implants
Prostate seed implants can be a particularly suitable radiotherapy option for patients diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer: Seed Implant Therapy
Review article on brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Research Institute - Seed Implant
The 15-year survival was 70% in patients with stage B1 prostate cancer treated with I-125 seed brachytherapy.27 These results suggested strongly that seed

Facts about Prostate Brachytherapy
The use of radioactive seed implants for prostate cancer is not new. This technique has long held promise as a method of delivering a very high dose of


cancer implant prostate seed
freezing for prostate cancer treatment
advanced cancer prostate symptom
cancer cayenne pepper prostate
enlarged medicine prostate