Treating Early Stage Prostate Cancer

Early stage prostate cancer is the beginning of cancerous cells on the tissues of the prostate gland. This gland is only found in men as it helps to produce the seminal fluid that helps to transport sperms in men during intercourse. If you or someone you know is diagnosed with this condition early, then you next line of action would possible to find good treatment. Luckily, this stage of cancer can completely be treated with the right medications. Here are highlights on early stage prostate cancer treatments you should understand.

 The symptoms of early stage prostate cancer

Unfortunately, the diagnosis of cancer in the prostate of many men cannot be significantly identified. This is because some of the signs are similar to other conditions like those experienced by people that have enlarged prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and some kind of infection in the lower abdominal area. When the person is experiencing pain when urinating, passing out blood in urine and semen, having frequent urge to pass urine, etc, then it is likely that the cancer in the prostate advanced in stage. So, early stage symptoms of prostate cancer are not usually clear because the cancer is slow growing.

Treatment for early stage prostate cancer

Cancer of the prostate can be treated when detected early. The use of some effective treatment options is known to provide relief to many men. Surgical procedures known as radical prostatectomy is one method that can help to remove the affected prostate. Another very effective treatment is the use of radiation treatment. This is especially with the type called the Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). This option is known to be of more effective than Proton therapy and other radiation techniques. The IMRT can help to destroy cancer cells that are localized with minimal damage to surrounding healthy cells.

Whatever treatments you opt for, it is important to understand that there are side effects associated with each method. Your doctor should  provide you with more details on this.

So, there is hope for you if you are trying to deal with early stage prostate cancer. Radical prostatectomy and IMRT are treatment options that can provide you with relief. Your doctor should be consulted so you can get information on how these treatments work. In addition, you would be checked to see if you qualify for any of them. In some cases, a combination of any of these and other treatments options can help to provide you with best cure. Discuss further details with your doctor or health care provider.

Prostate Laser Surgery – Benign Prostate Hypertrophy

Benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH is a medical condition that causes obstructive urinary symptoms in most men, especially in their old age as they pass 70 and approach 80. The symptoms of the disorder include reduced urine flow, increased frequency and urgency, dribbling, hesitancy, incontinence, and excess urination at night. There are instances in fact in which the disease affects men younger than 40, although that isn’t too common.

Also called prostate enlargement, one of the best known treatments for the condition is the transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), in a surgical instrument called the endoscope or cytoscope is inserted in order to cut away the excess tissue. However, due to the limitations of that procedure, and to technological advancements that are meant to make everything that much easier, other techniques have been found to improve on the TURP. 

Prostate laser surgery is a minimally invasive therapy that is used these days for the treatment of BPH. Just like with the TURP procedure, in this operation a portion of the prostate is removed; however this time it is done by the aid of a specialized laser. With this surgery, the man being treated is afforded better urinary retention than previously; and he may undergo the procedure in the event of medical therapy failure, a recurrent infection, and renal insufficiency.

Incidentally, prostate laser surgery may be employed also for the treatment of various other conditions that generally affect the male urinary and reproductive systems, such as bladder stones, and prostatic bleeding. During the procedure, an anesthetic is given to the patient to help him relax for the length of the operation. The cystoscope is then inserted along with a specialized laser fiber in order to remove the portion of the prostate blocking the bladder’s drainage. Because of the loss of continence that result from the trauma to the region, a catheter is left in the bladder just long enough for the man to regain control of his bladder fluids – the catheter is usually removed the next day.

Some of the important advantages of prostate laser surgery, especially over TURP include the aforementioned minimal invasiveness of the surgery in dealing with bladder outlet obstruction, and a shortened recovery period, which most men can appreciate if they have to get back to work in a hurry. Certainly, because of the improved precision of the process, the patient also experiences lower blood loss than if he had to undergo the conventional prostate surgery. There are side effects still, though, and they include some initial discomfort with voiding after the procedure; however, this fades within days. Some patients also take longer to recover their bladder control, but again, that fades. And with fewer scars, the man certainly has a lot to be thankful for

Prostate Cancer Treatment Brachytherapy – Advantages and Disadvantages

Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, is a procedure in which ionizing radiation is employed from a controlled source in order to treat certain diseases in the human body.

In prostate cancer treatments, radiation therapy makes use of beams of x-rays or gamma rays to destroy or damage the DNA of cancer cells in the body – wherever they may have progressed to in the body. This allows for radiotherapy to be useful in treating all stages of the condition. Incidentally, other cells (normal ones) in the body are also damaged in the process; but whereas they can recuperate and regenerate, the cancerous cells cannot and die off. 

Brachytherapy is a form radiation therapy that makes use of an internal source of radiation in order to kill the cancer, usually used when the prostate cancer cells are still in the prostate gland and have not spread (or metastasized) to other locations across the body.

Brachytherapy for prostate cancer is administered using “seeds,” small radioactive rods implanted directly into the tumor. Also referred to as permanent implant brachytherapy, it actually is a popular treatment choice for patients who have low risk features of the disease or of relapse. Men with intermediate risk features may also be treated by it though.

Brachytherapy is a process in which about a hundred small ‘seeds’ of radioactive material are placed inside of the prostate gland with the aid of a needle through the skin of the perineum, and directly into the tumor while it is still in the prostate gland. The radioactive materials normally used in this procedure are iodine-125 or palladium-103, although there are others that have similar effects in the therapy. The operation may be carried out under a spinal anesthetic, but if the patient desires it or the surgeon thinks it is necessary, general anesthetic may be used also.

The seeds, once inserted in the prostate, carry on to emit lower-energy x-rays that typically travel only a short distance within the organ without doing a lot of damage to other organs or cells in the body. The seeds do eventually become inert, but they remain in the prostate gland permanently on permanent residency. But the risk of radiation exposure to others from patients treated with the implanted seeds is generally not thought to be significant enough to cause worry.

Advantages/Merits of Brachytherapy

One of the many merits of brachytherapy, especially over conventional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is that it can be performed on an outpatient basis.

Another advantage is that the procedure is associated with good 10-year outcomes while also guaranteeing relatively low morbidity.

However it is only applicable in early stage disease: later stages may employ a combination therapy of both EBRT and radiation therapy.

Disadvantages/Side Effects Of Brachytherapy

The side effects of both are similar – radiation proctitis, impotence, and incontinence; and typically they were off as the radiation does as well.

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