Jill Osterhage
BC1025
Week 1 - LOM Assignment

Effective Treatment of Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. There are many options of treatment out there. Some have extreme side effects. Where others don’t have long term side effect but are more discomfiting. Other treatments are done over time. The most import factor when make the dision in cancer treatment is the effectiveness
Radiation
Radiation appears to be the best method in treating prostate cancer. There are two main types of radiation therapy. External beam radiation and brachytherapy, I feel that either one of these treatments would be the best decision for any male to make. Most of the side effects are not permit. The pain factor in either non excitant or very low.

External Beam Radiation Therapy One of the main types of radiation known as EBRT (external beam radiation therapy) is beams of radiation that are focused on the prostate gland from a machine outside the body. Before having the treatment you would have different imaging tests such as MRI, CT scan and/or an x -ray of the pelvis. This is done to find the exact location of the prostate gland. Ink mark can be placed on your skin to be used as a guide to focus the radiation beam in the right area. Treatment is given 5 times a week for 7 to 9 weeks as an outpatient. The side effect that you may encounter are bowel problems, bladder problems, and erection issues.
Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy also called seed implantation or interstitial radiation. This when small pellets or “seed” are inserted right into the prostate gland. These seed are about the size of grain of rice. There are two different types of this treatment, permanent brachytherapy which is a low dose rate (LDR) and temporary brachytherapy which is a high dose rate (HDR). LDR is when 40 to 100 seeds are placed into the prostate gland and will give of flow doses of radiation for weeks or months. This treatment may require an overnight stay in the hospital because you will receive 3 of these over a two day period. HDR is when seeds are placed