PROSTATE CANCER RADIATION TREATMENT

Surprisingly enough treatment for prostate cancer radiation (also known as Radiotherapy) may not be the best treatment for a prostate cancer patient. It depends on age and health the patient before radiation treatment will be required.

This article serves as information purposes only not for medical advice. Always consult your personal physician when any physical illness arises.

One important thing a patient needs to know is a prostate malignancy is perhaps one of the slowest growing tumors of all the other cancers. Years may pass without any noticeable growth of the tumor because it is so slow. When this occurs your doctor will generally tell you that you are in stage one of the diseases.

During this period your doctor will monitor your health. Before, he or she decides on what course of action to take. You might get the impression that the doctor is being somewhat cavalier about the whole thing. Rest assured though your doctor is not being cavalier. He or she is doing what most practicing physicians will do when you are first diagnosed with prostate cancer and making the decision if prostate cancer radiation treatment is needed.

There are various tests the physician will carry out on a patient to monitor him or her. A good and most common test which can determine prostate cancer is known as the Digital Rectal Examination.

This method may be uncomfortable but quite simple, requires the doctor to insert a gloved finder up the rectum. This enables, he or she, to feel the prostate and tumors, therefore enabling them to tell if there has been a change in the size of the tumor or additional tumors have formed. Other test includes the PSA blood test.

The PSA stands for (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a protein which is produced by (you guest it) the prostate gland. Small quantity of the protein passes into the body through the blood. Between zero and four is the normal PSA count in the blood.

The PSA count could also be higher depending on your age. Level 10 or more indicates the possibility of prostate cancer. Although other physical conditions have the level that high that is why a PSA test is not the only test used to detect the malignancy. It is advisable that additional blood test and other test are used to finalize the diagnoses and form a plan of attack on the disease.

Radiation treatment may be one form used to attack prostate cancer radiation treatment. Radiotherapy is a process whereby your doctor uses a high intensity x-ray to beam radiation directly onto the prostate.

This is usually done small dose of a few minutes duration at a time. This therapy is normally recommended if the disease is localized instead of surgery.

There are various factors your doctor must consider before deciding if prostate cancer radiation treatment should be your plan of attack.