External Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer
There are various treatment options available for prostate cancer. One of which is radiation treatment. There are two types of radiation treatments, external radiation treatment for prostate cancer and internal radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Here we are going to learn about the external beam radiation treatment for prostate cancer.
External radiation treatment also called radiotherapy or X-ray therapy involves the use of high-energy X-rays to kill prostate cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing further. External radiation treatment is very effective at destroying cancer cells, but sometimes can damage adjacent healthy cells.
Before starting with the external radiation treatment, the exact area of your body that needs to receive radiation is marked with ink. These ink marks on your skin provide a semi-permanent outline to the treatment area and help to guide the radiation beam. Three-dimensional scans are used to determine the exact location of your prostate. Sometimes even small golden markers are placed on your prostate to make sure that the radiation hits the same-targeted area each time. Now-a-days many new techniques are introduced which allow more precise focusing of the radiation beams.
External radiation treatments are generally given 5 days a week for about 8 weeks on an outpatient basis either in hospital or clinic. Each treatment session takes about 10 minutes. Out of the total time, radiation is received for only about 1 minute and remaining time is required for preparation. Since external radiation treatment is not painful anesthesia is not required.
A radiation therapist will help you onto the treatment table and into the correct position during each time of treatment. Once he is sure that you are positioned well, he leaves the room and starts the external radiation treatment. During the external radiation treatment you will be under a constant observation and should remain still and relaxed. The therapist may come inside the room to change your position and reposition the machine. The machine will do its work without touching you and so you will not experience any pain during the treatment. After the treatment, the therapist will help you off the table.
Side effects of External Radiation Treatment
The side effects associated with external radiation treatment are mild and generally disappear after the treatment. During external radiation treatment, because of the radiations you may notice skin changes in the treated area. Skin reactions such as rashes, redness, scarring may be noticed. You may experience frequent urination, burning with urination due to the exposure of bladder and urethra to X-rays. External radiation treatment can cause inflammation of tissues and organs in and around the treated area leading to other complications associated with those organs or tissues. Some of these complications include diarrhea, skin irritation, bladder irritability, abdominal tenderness, loose stools, rectal bleeding and discomfort during bowel movements.
External radiation treatment may cause sexual side effects in some men. One of the possible side effects is erectile dysfunction. Some may even experience rectal problems and urinary problems like frequent urination and urgency to urinate. These all are short-term side effects and shortly disappear after the treatment. But some men may experience rectal problems months after treatment, which can be controlled by medications.
Some side effects can last for many years after the treatment. They may include thickening of tissue or slight darkening of the treated skin. But these are uncommon.