Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is used to kill the prostate cancer cells and stop the growth of prostate tumor. Radiation therapy uses the high doses of X-ray radioactive to damage the cancer cells so that they will not develop into other parts of the body. However, radiation also destroys the healthy cells, but these normal cells can recover after sometime.
Radiation therapy is the most effective treatment for the prostate cancer. In many cases, it is used with the combination of hormonal treatment. Radiation surgery is very effective to treat the prostate cancer that has developed within the prostate or nearby tissues. Radiation is also useful to destroy the prostate cancer cells that couldn’t be killed through other treatments.
Two Types of Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy can be performed by two ways- external beam radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy or Brachytherapy.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
In this therapy, the prostate tumor is targeted by a large machine to send the radiation. The radiation machine is placed in the direction of the place where the cancer is located. This radiation process is applied for five times in a week, and the duration of the treatment can be one to two months. The treatment period depends upon the spread of cancer and its location. Sometimes the treatment can be divided into short periods.
Internal Radiation Therapy or Brachytherapy
In this therapy, some small seeds of radioactive material are used to treat the prostate cancer. This therapy is useful to treat the early stage prostate cancer. With the help of ultrasound the prostate cancer is located. This ultrasound also guides the needles that insert the seeds into the prostate cancer cells or tumor.
When these seeds are left into the tumor, they release radioactive rays for a couple of weeks. These rays are not as accurate as the external radiation, but they are not harmful for the other healthy cells in the body. Hence, these cells can be left in the place after the therapy also.
Sometimes the brachytherapy and radiation therapy or external therapy and surgery are combined for the treatment of prostate therapy. It is also noteworthy that before the actual treatment of radiation therapy CT scans are done to locate the prostate cancer and to find into which parts the cancer has spread.
Side Effects of radiation Therapy
The side effects of radiation therapy remain till the treatment is over, but some side effects may continue after treatment. Some of the side effects can develop after the treatment. In some cases, side effects become worse after several years of the treatment. These side effects of radiation therapy are- erection problem, cystitis (urination problem), bleeding through urination, diarrhea, inflamed intestine, and so on.
In short, the goal of radiation therapy is to destroy the cancer cells with the help of radioactive rays. The satisfied results make millions of people in the world to accept this radiation therapy.
