Prostate radiation is one of a number of treatments for Prostate Cancer. If your cancer is localised to the prostate your doctor may offer you a choice of treatments -either surgery or radiation. Radiation does have a couple of advantages over surgery, however, in that you can continue working during the process and the recovery is a lot quicker. Having said that there may be side effects with the prostate radiation you might want to clarify.

If the prostate cancer is very advanced, prostate radiation could be used to shrink the tumour and then managed with hormone therapy or chemotherapy. Interestingly, there are two types of radiation therapy, internal or external. Some men are treated using both.

As I mentioned earlier Prostate Radiation does come with side effects and I will briefly outline them below:

Incontinence If the radiation damages the urinary sphincter, leakage may occur with a continuing urge to urinate. Surgery has been used successfully to correct the very worst cases of incontinence in many patients.

Impotence The inability to maintain or have an erection is impotence in a nutshell. Men with a healthy sexual appetite prior to radiation may notice a slight decrease in their libido, in more than half those men, this change will be permanent. Medication can be prescribed by a doctor in the more severe cases to assist men back towards a fulfilling sex-life.

Bowel Problems Diarrhoea, bowel urgency, burning feeling with bowel movements and a flare up of existing haemorrhoids can sometimes be experienced after prostate radiation therapy. In most cases the symptoms don’t last for long periods and can be controlled with medication. Unfortunately, about 20% of patients will have a permanent change in their bowel habits.

Infertility Normally, you would expect to become infertile after prostate radiation so if you want to become a father, then you might consider having your sperm frozen before the treatment begins.

Fatigue It is possible that external radiation will cause extreme tiredness which will continue for a couple of months after the treatment has finished. Dietary changes have been of help to some men in coping with extreme fatigue.

Tissue Damage This is very rare occurring in less than one percent of all men who are treated with external prostate radiation, and the resultant problems (rectum, bladder and surrounding tissues) may need surgery to put them right.

In conclusion, I will continue to bang my drum on “Prevention is better than Cure” theme and encourage men to look after their prostate. External Prostate \Massage so important and will nourish and exercise the gland keeping it in a healthy condition.

A further topic of interest is the realtionship between sex and your prostate. A healthy prostate is required for a healthy love life, and you may find this link a useful as a source of more information on the subject.