Prostate Cancer Treatment Options - The Benefits of Proton Therapy

Prostate cancer affects thousands of men each year. This type of cancer can be deadly; however, if caught early, the 5 year rate of survival is almost 99 percent. 

There are numerous options available for those with cancer of the prostate. These include surgery, hormone therapy and radiation. Surgery along with hormone therapy is normally only used for large or aggressive tumors. Otherwise, radiation is the preferred treatment choice.

One of the newest forms of radiation used in prostate cancer is proton therapy. This therapy targets difficult to reach and treat tumors within the prostate. Higher doses of radiation is carefully aimed directly into the tumor, while the number of side effects are greatly reduced.

Unlike traditional radiation therapy that may require up to 8 beam angles, proton therapy uses only two beams (one left sided beam and one right sided beam). By being able to precisely deliver the radiation into the tumor, the cancerous cells are killed while minimizing the impact of healthy organ and tissues, including the rectum and bladder.

This treatment is painless and allows patients to return to their life without any downtime, making it the perfect choice for those who have an active, busy lifestyle. Each treatment takes approximately 20 minutes and must be done each day (Monday-Friday) for eight weeks. 

Another benefit to this treatment option is post treatment impotency is greatly reduced. In fact, many patients are able to remain sexually active while undergoing proton therapy treatment for cancer of the prostate. 

When it comes to prostate cancer, there are several treatment options. The type of treatment options available depends on the size of the cancer and its location. If radiation therapy is offered, you may want to discuss whether proton therapy is an available treatment option.

Exactly What Is Radiation Therapy?

When a person has cancer, you hear about them having radiation treatment and it triggers the question in your mind as to what is radiation therapy anyway.

Radiation treatment or therapy is used to shrink and kill cancer tumors and cancer cells. A machine is used to direct X-Rays, gamma rays and other charged particles directly at and into the cancerous area.

The radiation can be delivered into the cancerous area by a machine that can point to a precise area where the doctors know that the tumor resides. The machine is on the exterior to the body and to the tumor itself. This is called external beam radiation therapy. The radiation treatment can also come from a radioactive piece of material which is placed in the body near to the cancer cells. This process is called internal radiation therapy.

Another form of systematic radiation therapy will  use substances that are radioactive, such as iodine that is radioactive, and it will travel through the blood to get at and kill the cancer cells.

Statistics show that approximately half of all cancer patients receive some form of radiation therapy during their bout with cancer and the course of its treatment.

Tumors and cancer cells are killed by the radiation damaging their DNA. The DNA is made to be non-productive right away or free radicals are created to such an extent that the cancer dies. This causes the cancers cells to stop dividing and growing which is what you want to happen, as the dead cancer cells are then removed from the body by natural processes.

Radiation does have the ability to damage normal cells that are in the vicinity, and doctors take that into account when they plan the course of the treatment. The answer to the question of what is radiation therapy would be that it is one of the ways to treat cancer along with surgery and chemotherapy.

More About Proton Treatment In Detail

Proton treatment which is also known as proton beam therapy is a type of treatment through radiation that makes use of protons instead of using x-rays in the treatment of cancer.  A proton can best be described as a positively charged particle. While at high energy levels, protons can be sued in the destruction of cancer cells. This kind of treatment may be implemented alone, or it might be combined with surgery, standard radiotherapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

If you are intent on knowing more about Proton treatment, then you will have to understand how it works. A machine that is known as a synchrotron speeds up the protons which reflects the energy that the protons have since their depth will depend on their energy. After the protons have arrived at their destination, they deposit a dose of radiation in the tumor. The good thing about this form of radiotherapy is that there is no radiation beyond the tumor.

You can receive this treatment in an outpatient setting. Thus, treatment does not require that you be admitted to the hospital. The number of treatment session will depend on the stage at which your cancer is. The doctor may decide to give you a single large dose of radiation typically referred to as radiosurgery or multiple proton beam treatments using smaller radiation doses. This is referred to as stereotactic body radiotherapy.

This treatment is usually delivered in a special treatment room. The treatment team ensures first that the patient is in the correct position before the treatment commences. This will involve alignment of lasers that are centered on marks put on your body. Once the patient has been aligned properly, the treatment team will leave the room and move on to the controls where they will commence the treatment procedure.

The treatment by itself is not painful. However, you might start to experience fatigue and skin problems afterwards such as redness, swelling, blistering, peeling, irritation or dryness. You might also experience other side effects especially if you are also receiving chemotherapy. In general, the side effects of proton treatment will usually depend on the part of the body that is undergoing the treatment or the size of the tumor. It will also depend on the type of healthy tissue that is situated next to the tumor.

Proton therapy us very useful for treating tumors that are yet to spread to other important parts of the body. Thus it can be used to treat cancers such as eye cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and non-cancerous brain tumors. With further research it is easy to learn more about proton treatment.

Early Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Is So Important

When it comes to the 'C' word, it's bad enough, but there are different types of cancer. Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of the disease. As you may well know, cancer survival rates are often given in terms of years of survival after diagnosis. It is very important that pancreatic cancer be detected as early as possible and that pancreatic cancer treatment be started of course as early as possible. 

The problem is that this type of cancer isn't very easily found early on, and so many people often find out after the cancer has spread. Once it spreads, survival rates go way down, and pancreatic cancer treatment is of course less effective. 

Michael Landon is one of the many famous people you might know that was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and Patrick Swayze is another one. Both of them died within months of being diagnosed, and so you can see that there wasn't even a way around it without money as an issue and the most advanced treatments and therapies. 

That doesn't mean that everyone who gets pancreatic cancer is going to die, especially within months. What it does mean is that detection and early diagnosis is key, and you want to stay on top of the treatment plan described by your doctor. What can you do be doing as far as lifestyle changes to help improve your chances of survival. 

What have you been told so far about your treatment? Maybe you're looking at this article because a person you know has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Maybe you're concerned about them and want to see what else they can do as far as treatment. Reach out to others who have been there, and as you seek that extra support, you'll find out more information about this form of cancer.

The Use of Proton Radiation For Cancer Treatment

It is common to use various forms of radiation for cancer treatment, as the radiation will kill the cancer cells and stop them from growing. However, traditional x-ray radiation treatment does leave collateral damage among the surrounding healthy cells which is a major side-effect in the process.

The use of proton radiation treatment offers a new, and less damaging remedy for the same type of treatment as it has the capability of zeroing in on the problem. Traditional radiation therapy does have the ability to control many kinds of cancers if enough dosage is given, but he surrounding healthy tissue gets a shot of the radiation that can be very damaging.

The advantage of proton radiation is that since it is able to be more focused in its exposure to an area, the dosage of radiation can be administered at a higher level than that of traditional methods, thus offering a more concentrated application against the cancer.

Essentially, all tissues consist of molecules containing atoms as their fundamental structures. Each atom has a nucleus in the center that is orbited by electrons that are negatively charged.

When these atoms are bombarded by protons, which are positively charged, the negatively charged electrons are pulled out of their orbits, thus changing the structure of the atom. This is termed as ionization.

The ionization destroys the DNA of the cell, which is its genetic material, and if enough radiation is directed towards the area, the cell will die before it has a chance to repair itself. Both normal and cancer cells go through a process of rebuilding, but the rebuilding ability is not as pronounced in cancer cells, thus they receive more permanent damage than do regular cells during this process.

With the proton treatment approach, the energy of the radiation can be directed to a tighter area and it gives the doctor much more control as to what specifically will be treated. The precision that can be obtained allows treatment of specific tumors and growths, and most of the surrounding tissues are left untouched in the process.

Traditional x-ray treatment is also more confined to areas nearer to the surface of the skin, whereas a proton approach gives the doctor the ability to get to cancers that are deeper in the body. Also the precise targeting ability of proton treatment allows for a better recovery rate for the patient as there is less in the way of collateral damage.