Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital issued the following announcement on Dec. 21.
Every three minutes or so in America, someone is diagnosed with prostate cancer*. In 2019, prostate cancer remains the most common cancer specific to males in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Those stats might sound scary, but the thought of having a scalpel anywhere… down there… can sound even scarier. As a result, many men put off getting screened or checked for prostate cancer, which only makes treating it more difficult.
But there is good news for guys. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have an alternative to prostatectomy — radiation therapy — and it’s now more effective with fewer side effects than ever before.
How Does Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Work?
Radiation therapy for prostate cancer typically takes one of two forms:
External Beam Radiation: Using a machine called a linear accelerator, your radiation oncologist precisely targets the prostate’s tissues in your pelvis with radiation energy, destroying cancer cells within the prostate gland with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue
Brachytherapy ("Seed Implant"): More of an “inside out” approach, this procedure involves surgically implanting radioactive seeds within the prostate gland, where they then release radiation into the cancerous cells
Depending on the patient’s scenario and the intensity of treatment needed, the oncologist might combine these two therapies.
What Are the Benefits of Radiation Therapy?
External beam radiation is completely noninvasive and requires no surgery, anesthesia or incisions. It’s also extremely fast and convenient. Patients just have to show up for daily outpatient sessions of treatment that usually take no more than 30 minutes per visit. For more favorable forms of prostate cancer, treatment can be condensed to as few as 5 sessions administered 2–3 times per week over 2–3 weeks thanks to a treatment approach called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). This is a major improvement on the two months of daily treatment sessions that external radiation therapy has historically required. Best of all, this condensed regimen doesn’t lower the efficacy of the treatment or raise your risk of side effects.
Brachytherapy is also a convenient option, as it can be performed on an outpatient basis during a single, one-time procedure that takes two hours at most. The seeds then do their work on their own. General anesthesia puts the patient to sleep before the procedure. After the patient wakes up, they can go home and are usually well enough to return to work in as little as 2–3 days.
Both approaches place fewer physical and logistical demands on the patient, equating to less time off from work for the patient — and also lower costs to the health system.
Is Radiation Therapy Covered by Insurance?
Both external beam radiation and brachytherapy seed implants are considered a standard treatment option for prostate cancer and is covered by all major health insurance plans.
Will Radiation Therapy Cure Prostate Cancer?
The success of radiation therapy for prostate cancer depends upon the features of the cancer at the time of initiation of therapy, along with the patient’s underlying health status and the treatment option selected. Radiation therapy, regardless of how it’s administered, has an excellent track record at providing cure rates for prostate cancer that are as good as surgical removal of the prostate gland. For example, a recent study** showed that more than 95% of men with low-risk prostate cancer who receive treatment with 5-fraction SBRT will achieve a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level seven years after treatment that is considered "curative."
How Do You Get Started with Radiation Therapy?
Before a patient can undergo radiation therapy, they must be diagnosed with prostate cancer and then meet with a radiation oncologist to evaluate that diagnosis and their state of health.
If the oncologist and patient determine that external beam radiation is the best option the patient’s pelvic area is first "mapped" with a computed tomography (CT) scan. The oncologist then analyzes this map with a medical physicist and a radiation planning expert called a dosimetrist to customize the treatment to the patient’s unique anatomy. During this process, a plan is created that directs cancer-destroying doses of radiation to the prostate gland while minimizing the exposure of surrounding healthy tissue and organs. Once the plan is finalized and locked in, the patient can begin undergoing their therapy sessions.
Patients considering brachytherapy typically must undergo a procedure called a prostate volume study, during which an ultrasound probe measures the exact size and shape of the prostate gland. If its size meets the criteria for treatment, the ultrasound images are saved to a computer planning system used by the doctor and dosimetrist to determine the necessary number and orientation of radiation seeds that will need to be placed into the prostate.
What Should You Expect During Radiation Therapy?
We ask patients to arrive to their sessions with a full bladder and an empty rectum. Radiation therapists carefully help the patient position himself under the linear accelerator on the treatment table. The linear accelerator has a built-in CT scanner, which allows the technicians to compare a real-time scan to the patient’s earlier mapping, ensuring that the two are perfectly aligned. If they are not, the patient’s position is adjusted to align before treatment begins. The actual treatment takes only 3–5 minutes.
Does Radiation Therapy Have Any Side Effects?
Because the prostate gland is so close to the bladder and wraps around a segment of the urethra, patients might find themselves urinating more frequently or needing to urinate more urgently while undergoing therapy. Their urine stream might also weaken as well. Some patients also experience fatigue, particularly if they are taking medication that suppresses testosterone production as part of their therapy.
More long-term side effects include a higher risk of blood appearing in one’s urine or stool, scarring along the prostatic urethra that can cause difficulty emptying the bladder while urinating, and erectile dysfunction. In some cases, these can be managed with medications or minor corrective procedures.
Can You Exercise During Radiation Therapy?
Yes. Patients are encouraged to remain physically active during radiation therapy. Light exercise can even help reduce certain treatment side effects such as fatigue. Brachytherapy patients, however, are usually restricted from lifting anything heavier than 20 pounds for 2–3 weeks after surgery.
Can You Have Sex During Radiation Therapy?
Yes. That said, brachytherapy patients are usually asked to refrain from sexual activity for four weeks after the procedure. In the unlikely event that a seed has gotten dislodged, a condom should be used during the first 1–2 instances of sexual intercourse, just to be safe.
The Best Prostate Cancer Treatment Starts with Early Detection
Radiation therapy is an excellent treatment option for many prostate cancers, but as with all cancer treatments it works best when the cancer is caught at its earliest stage. This is why it’s so important to get screened regularly by your primary care doctor or urologist, especially if you are over the age of 50, have a family history of prostate cancer or are African-American. Don’t let fear, embarrassment or discomfort get in the way of your health.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital
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