What’s Involved in Treatment for Prostate Cancer?

When prostate cancer is found in its earliest stages, there are many more treatment options available. But, what about those who need treatment for an advanced form of the disease? Are there alternatives available to them?

The simple answer is yes. Choosing the right treatment, however, is a personal path that should only be selected with guidance from a physician and support from family or loved ones.

Aside from surgical procedures, there are a number of treatment options that patients, their doctors, and their families may want to explore. Some of the main choices include:

• High dose radiation therapy – This involves the implantation of a radioactive seed into the prostate itself. The procedure does involve a hospital stay and generally needs to be repeated a few times.
• External beam radiation – This involves the use of treatments that target the prostate gland itself. The process typically involves multiple out-patient visits to a treatment facility over the course of several weeks, typically seven to eight. Each session only lasts a few minutes.
• Combination – This treatment combines the other two options to help stop the spread of the disease.
• Hormonal therapy – This is generally called for if a tumor is large. It helps block the hormones that promote further growth and generally is used in conjunction with one form of radiation therapy or another.

While early diagnosis is ideal, there are treatment options for prostate cancer at any stage. Talk to your doctor to determine which path makes the most sense in your particular case.

About Author:-

Dr. Echt and his team at the Prostate Seed Institute offer the most highly sophisticated methods of radiation therapy available in the United States, equal to that found in major medical centers and academic settings. These include prostate seed implantation, high dose radiation implants, and external beam radiation with image-guided and intensity-modulated (IGRT and IMRT) capabilities.

The Prostate Seed Institute is a non-surgical prostate cancer care center. The founder of the Prostate Seed Institute, Dr. Gregory Echt, is a radiation oncologist who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer.