External beam radiation therapy treatments are normally given on a daily basis 5 days a week (Monday to Friday) for anything up to about 6 or 7 weeks and each treatment, which is painless, lasts for just a few minutes. (Such treatments are also commonly given to patients whose cancer is no longer localized to the prostate gland but has spread into the pelvis and can also be used to relieve pain and reduce tumors in cases of advanced prostate cancer.)
In cases where tumors are large it is also common to give hormone treatment alongside radiation therapy in order to block the action of the male hormones which feed the growth of prostate cancer tumors. Such hormonal treatments are often continued for many months, or even years.
External beam radiation targets not only the prostate gland but also the seminal vesicles, to which prostate cancer can readily spread. In previous forms of this treatment it was also common to irradiate the pelvic lymph nodes but today this is only done in a minority of cases where evidence suggests that this is necessary.
There are generally few immediate side-effects to external beam radiation other than fatigue and possibly diarrhea when radiation is applied to the rectum, but both of these soon pass once treatment is completed.
Longer-term affects include impotence which affects about 40% to 50% of patients. This figure is however declining with the introduction of computer technology which now allows treatment to be tailored precisely to the anatomy of the patient with far more precise targeting than has previously been possible.
Turning to internal radiation therapy, this is a procedure in which dozens of tiny seeds are implanted directly into the prostate gland to deliver a high dose of radiation directly into the affected tissue.
Ultrasound is used to guide very thin needles from the perineum into the prostate gland to deposit the tiny seeds of palladium and iodine in a pattern which has previously been mapped using a very sophisticated computer program. The procedure, which usually takes about an hour, is carried out under local anesthetic and the patient is normally allowed home the same day. One alternative approach is to use more powerful temporary seed implants which are introduced over several days and possibly to combine this with low dose external radiation therapy. This procedure does however require hospitalization.
Internal radiation therapy carries few side-effects and normally leads to impotence in less that 15% of patients under the age of 70. It is not however suitable for everybody, especially men with large tumors or those who have undergone a transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
The former practice, this Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment is Orchiectomy or the surgical castration -a term that hardly requires definition. The science for this is that testosterone stimulates prostate cancer growth. Testosterone is the male androgen hormone essential for a boy's development to manhood. It is responsible for many things characteristically man: baritone voice, deepening of chests, bulging of muscles, and growth of body hair among several things. And an enzyme that is secreted in the prostate gland converts this testosterone into a metabolite Dihydrotestosterone (abbreviated as DHT) which is a cancer stimulating cell.
And because the testicles produce the majority of the testosterone, the Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment includes Orchiectomy or this surgical castration where the prostate cancer cells are deprived of testosterone thus, starving it to death. Of course, as I've mentioned it is percentage driven. Testosterone in majority is produces in the testicles, but other gonads do build testosterone, and one of them is the prostate itself.
Another method in castration is the Chemical Castration. It is done by making the pituitary gland over-stimulate the Leydig Cells, thus making the requirement for stimulation too high that it will have a reduced stimulated ability and wearing the cells out. Leydig Cells is primarily responsible for testosterone secretion. The effects of chemical castration include sexual dysfunction, among other things.
Today's practice for Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment is decidedly different, thank God. That means we men can keep what makes us men in the first place. The practice of today is blocking the switching of testosterone into DHT. By using enzymes like 5-AR inhibitor Finasteride or the more potent Dutasteride (Proscar and Avodart, respectively), the testosterone is prevented from turning into DHT. This is a more laudable solution to battling prostate cancer by Androgen Deprivation Therapy than chopping some part of your genitalia off.
Every physician differs in medical practice but that doesn't mean you'd have to be the next castrated prostate cancer survivor. Try asking your doctor on the benefits of using anti androgen drugs or androgen receptor blockers for your Androgen Deprivation Therapy for prostate treatment. Believe me; you'd not want to have hot flushes and enlarging breast as a side effect to prostate cancer treatment.
Both Donald Saunders & Bobbie Mckee are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Donald Saunders has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health Insurance, Forex Training and Diabetes Treatment. ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on a wide range of and also provides advice on many topics including the therapeutic use of. Donald Saunders's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Bobbie Mckee has sinced written about articles on various topics from Acne Treatment, About Web Hosting and Credit Cards. The first related cases were found among the British. These workers at some point due to their working in mills, mines, construction companies,. Bobbie Mckee's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.