Prostate Radiation Vs. Surgery

Prostate cancer can be fatal if it isn't detected in the early stages. This type of cancer is not normally detected in the earliest stages because it doesn't have symptoms that are noticed right away. The patients with prostate cancer have a much better survival rate if it is detected in Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the disease. Radiation treatment or surgery are the cures for this ailment.

Facts:

• A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which is a simple blood test, or a digital rectal exam will detect prostate cancer in its earliest stages. If the disease is in Stage 3 or higher, the symptoms are blood in semen or urine, urinary signs of urgency and decreased flow, swelling in the legs or pelvic pain and will be evident.

Significance:

• The only cure for prostate cancer is to remove the tumor or to shrink it until it disappears through either radiation or surgery before the cancer has spread to other organs.

Function:

• It is important for any man with symptoms of prostate cancer to seek consultation and treatment immediately. Regular annual check ups with your physician will detect this disease in the earliest stages through simple routine tests which are very inexpensive. When discovered and treatment is necessary, there are options to choose in both radiation therapy and also surgery.

Features:

• Prostate radiation therapy can be performed in two ways. Brachytheraphy involves inserting tiny seeds of radioactive molecules into the prostate through a syringe. The seeds will continue to release radioactive elements into the tissue for about three months. This results in killing the infected tissue and allows for new healthy tissue growth. This method is virtually pain free and anesthesia is not needed. Radiation therapy may also be administered externally. This process includes seven to eight weeks of sessions and is recommended for the later stages of prostate cancer. This process is 100 percent pain-free and requires no anesthesia. Surgery is performed under general anesthesia or sedation and a spinal anesthetic. An incision is made from the abdomen to the pelvic bone and the prostate gland and surrounding infected tissue are removed. This may be done as an open surgery or it can be performed as a less invasive laparoscopic surgery. This involves only a few small incisions with long medical tools and a small camera inserted to achieve the same results. The newest form of prostate cancer surgery is a robotic procedure where the surgeon directs the medical tools and camera from a computer, enabling the robot to do the actual incisions and procedures.

Considerations:

• All forms of prostate cancer treatment have the same side effects, which are possible urinary incontinence and impotence. Patients over 70 have a greater chance of experiencing these. The recovery times on the treatments vary greatly. Radiation can be performed as an outpatient therapy with no down time. Laparoscopic surgery has less down time than open surgery due to the small incisions and not using general anesthesia. Open prostatectomy surgery has the longest recovery time of a hospital stay for about three days afterward and three to five weeks before returning to work.