Hormone Therapy – Hormonal Treatments For Prostate Cancer

It was Nobel laureate Charles Brenton Huggins who found that prostate cancer cells in dogs stopped growing when the dog was castrated. Specifically, he worked on hampering the amount of testosterone that was available to the tumor, and he discovered that several of those tumors actually started to shrink. Huggins won the Nobel Prize for finding that some forms of prostate cancer depend on the hormones of the male reproductive system in order to grow and progress, and he may have thus started what is today known as hormonal treatments for prostate cancer.

The hormone testosterone is not directly responsible for prostate cancer progression, but it works with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) from the adrenal glands to cause the prostate to produce DHT – dihydrotestosterone. It is DHT actually that the cancer feeds on to fuel its growth and advancement.

Hormonal treatments seek to interfere with this process at any point in order to deprive the cancer of its critical DHT. One procedure for instance is an orchiectomy, a surgical process that removes the testicles of the patient to stop the production of testosterone. A relatively safe procedure, and inexpensive, it immediately causes the cancerous tissue to begin to shrink in size. Another treatment however uses drugs instead of surgery.

It is understandable how men might be concerned about losing their testicles and thus being castrated in order to cure prostate cancer, and so they opt for antiandrogen medications that are actually more expensive yet incidentally perform precisely the same function without taking out the testicles. These drugs are also called androgen blockers.

In instances in which the cancer proves to be rather aggressive or stubborn, total androgen blockage may be considered as a necessary approach to treating the disease. Also known as TAB, this procedure uses a combination of the two types of hormonal treatments that there are (surgery and medications) in order to achieve an instance in which there are no hormones at all in the body available for the cancer to feed off of. Most times the cancer does regress this way.

The challenge with hormonal treatments is that they rarely cure prostate cancer.   Hormone therapy may be used against the disease in early stages to cause the prostate cancer tumor to shrink so that prostatectomy or radiation treatment can be used to cure the condition; but in many instances, it is saved for treatment of advanced disease to slow its progression. And when hormonal therapy does not work, chemotherapy is usually brought into play.

Cryotherapy – A Potent Curative Treatment for Prostate Cancer

If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are lots of treatment options the doctor can recommend for you. The exact type or combination of options will depend on the nature of the cancer on your prostate. One of the most effective options that can be applied on you is Cryotherapy. This treatment has proven to very effective and it’s seen as a curative approach than radiation and hormonal therapy. Here are very important facts about cryotherapy

What  Cryotherapy is all about

Cryotherapy is a treatment that involves the use of very low temperatures to destroy cancer cells. When you develop cancer on the cells of the prostate, this treatment option can be applied to destroy those cells without causing damage to the healthy tissues. The application method of the freezing temperature is controlled and precise. Hence, less side effects are most often encountered than with the use of radiation therapy.

Cryotherapy can be categorized as prostate cryotherapy and salvage cryotherapy. The former is applied is applied as the primary or first treatment for prostate cancer. The latter on the other hand is prescribed after radiation therapy has failed on the individual.

It offers milder side effects

The most important attraction of this treatment is the fact that it brings about low side effects. In this case, it a much better option than radiation therapy, which is known to bring about high risk of urinary incontinence and other symptoms. Studies have shown that this treatment can help to improve the urinary functions of patients who have had difficulties in urinating before undergoing radiation. So, if your concern is about the side effects of prostate cancer radiation treatments, cryotherapy can be your  very best alternative. You will have less to worry about side effects.

It is an established and recognized treatment in the United States

Cryotherapy is approved by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of the United States as an effective treatment option for prostate cancer. The approval may not be unrelated to the fact that patients who underwent the treatment have fewer side effects, and the nature of this treatment is curative. If you are in the United States, the good news is that Medicare and most insurance companies provide coverage for treatment in all the 50 states. So, you have less to worry about the cost of undergoing the treatment.

Finally, cancer of the prostate metastasizes slowly from the prostate gland to other parts of the body. If the right treatment is applied, the cancerous cells can be destroyed without causing harm to surrounding tissues. Cryotherpy is one of the few options available. You can discuss with your doctor or primary health care provider if this treatment would be suitable for you. More facts on this treatment can be accessed from many medical websites.

Radiation Therapy Options for Prostate Cancer Patients

Cancer of the prostate originates from the prostate gland. It is the second highest killer for men after lung cancer. Men who are 50 and above or men that are aging are frequently diagnosed with this condition. Other risk factors for this type of cancer include: diet, genes, ethnicity of the man, and some forms of medications, etc.

Just as in other forms of cancer diseases, different types of treatments have been discovered to help treat the condition. Of all the treatment options for prostate cancer Radiation therapy is more often applied. Perhaps, this has to do with the fact that it can work in all stages of prostate cancer. Here are more relevant details about this type of treatment.

Radiation therapy is a kind treatment whereby high intense rays are administered to kill cancer cells. The objective of this treatment is to destroy only cancerous cells and prevent them from spreading to healthy cells or tissues. For many years, this option has been effective in treating prostate cancer. Other quick facts on this treatment include:

• Two categories of radiation therapy can be administered to the patient who suffers from cancer of the prostate. These are known as external radiation and internal radiation. As their names suggest, the external radiation is carried outside the body while the internal radiation is implanted inside the body.
• Intensity- modulated radiation therapy and 3- dimensional conformal radiation therapy are types of external radiation.
• Brachytherapy uses implantation of radioactive seeds inside the prostate to destroy cancer.
• Cryotherapy is a form of radiation therapy that uses low temperature for treating affected cells.
• Radiation therapy can be used for treating early stage prostate cancer. It may be chosen in preference to surgery. When the cancer is advanced, this treatment can help to relieve the symptoms in the individuals.
• Side effects of radiation therapy include: incontinence, urinary problem, bowel problem, ligher, dry and tender skin, hair loss, etc.

If you are planning to for radiation therapy of any kind, it is advisable you talk to your doctor. You should ask him all the relevant questions on this treatment. You should have realistic expectations and don’t forget to be instructed on the all the possible side effects.  The questions you are mostly likely to ask the doctor will include but restricted to the following:

• What type of radiation would be suitable for you?
• Will the treatment become very effective for me?
• What are the chances that the cancer will not resurface after the treatment?
• What things will I be doing before, during and after surgery?
• Will I be treated as an inpatient or as an out patient?
• What side effects should I expect?

These are other questions should be answered by your doctor as you plan to submit yourself for radiation therapy. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), your doctor and other specialists can provide you with more details on this type of treatment. The NCI website is a good place to know more about this treatment.

 

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