Two Types Of Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer
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Radiotherapy is one of the many treatment options prostate cancer individual has to choose. This is a technique that uses high energy x-rays or other types or energy. This aims to kill the cancer cells or to keep the cancer cells from growing back again.
There are two known types of therapy using radiation which may be used to treat prostate cancer. One is the external radiation therapy (XRT) which utilizes a machine or perhaps a medical equipment outside of the entire body and is capable of sending rays. The other one is the internal radiotherapy which uses radioactive substance like in the brachytherapy.
An example of an external radiation therapy may be the IMRT or the Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy in which multiple beams coming from a variety of directions are used to focused on the prospective area- the prostate gland. The doctors were able to adjust the intensity and the strength of the supports based on the computerized program prior to the operation. This is important so that more radiation will blast the tumors or the cancer tissue and less is delivered to the surrounding organs like bladder as well as rectum.
In Brachytherapy, some tiny radioactive capsules which they call “seeds” are implanted into the cancerous prostate gland glands. These seeds will then give off radiation to the surrounding places aiming to kill all the malignant tumors. Men that are diagnosed with prostate cancer at stage T1 or T2 are said to be candidate for this type of treatment.
The oncologist first results in a 3-D grid map area of prostate gland using TRUS or Transrectal Ultrasound. The computer will then calculates the volume from the gland; determine the number of seed products that will be implanted and also to determine the location of the implantation.
The procedure would take about 50 to 60 minutes to finish and usually on an outpatient basis. The patient is only given a regional anesthesia prior to a needle with about One hundred or more rice-sized seeds are placed to a predetermined area. These seeds contain the radioactive isotopes of palladium 103 as well as iodine 125 capable of emitting rays for a period of three months. These isotopes will become inert after the three 30 days period.
There are side effects the men are suffering when treated with radiation. Impotence as well as urinary system problems is the most common types. Men who went through the radiation therapy have a greater risk of anal cancer and also bladder cancer. A small number of patients who have undergone brachytherapy especially those over the age of 70 will also be noted to have experience erectile dysfunction or incontinence.
With the technologies of ours today, period will come the percentage of men is going to be fully recovered after the rays or other treatment options they undergone. Gather more information through going to http://www.ProstateRadiation.org.


