Costs of EBRT Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

While the primary goal of treating prostate cancer will always be eradication of the threat, a secondary concern for many patients will involve dealing with the cost of treatment. Choosing a cost-effective method of fighting prostate cancer can leave you alive with your finances intact, so understanding the expected cost of radiation therapy is a good step toward informed consent.

Prostate Cancer

• According to the Medline Plus website, prostate cancer is a cancer affecting the prostate gland, which is a small, walnut-sized gland that is part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms of this condition include urinary problems such as the inability to urinate on command, excessive urination at night and pain while urinating. Other symptoms include blood in the semen or urine.

Radiation Therapy

• Radiation therapy is often used in conjunction with other forms of treatment, so the overall cost of treatment will not likely be limited to the cost of radiation therapy alone. Other forms of treatment that are often used include surgery (to remove all or part of the prostate) and chemotherapy (poisonous drugs used to kill the cancer cells).

Radiation Therapy Cost

• EBRT is a form of external radiation therapy, which means that radiation is applied to the prostate gland via a machine located outside of the body using gamma or X-rays to accomplish the task at hand. According to a study published in the February 2007 edition of the journal "Cancer," the average cost of treatment for individuals experiencing external beam radiation therapy is $24,204 during the first six months of treatment, with each additional six months of treatment past the first resulting in average extra costs of $3,222. This includes the cost of medications, outpatient visits and hospital stays incurred in connection with the treatment during the initial six-month time period.

Comparisons

• While androgen deprivation therapy is the most costly form of treatment overall, radiation therapy is a very close second. The least expensive form of treatment during the first six months of treatment is watching and waiting, which is another way of saying that no medical procedures are being performed aside from regular testing. Prostate removal surgery is a fairly low-cost method of treatment, but as stated above, it will often need to be combined with other techniques such as radiation therapy.

Considerations

• Keep in mind that these are average costs and should not be considered indicative of what you will spend throughout the course of treatment. Age also plays a large factor in cost, with younger, lower-risk patients needing less expensive forms of therapy while older patients often require the "big guns" of expensive treatments like androgen deprivation and radiation therapy. The stage and condition of the cancer can play another role in increasing treatment cost, with more developed and aggressive tumors resulting in a higher cost of treatment.