Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

In a previous Hub, "What I Learned About Prostate Cancer" I ended with a note that I would write more about radiation therapies. I traveled from Arroyo Grande, California, to Seattle, Washington, where my second son was living, to investigate the Seattle Prostate Institute. The noted Dr. Grimm saw me and explained that I was a good candidate for what is called seed therapy (and more technically, brachytherapy). I was impressed by his charts and graphs -- all indicating that results compared favorably with surgery with a lot less pain and less side effects. Because of my age, 57, low PSA, 3.8, and 7 Gleason score, I qualified. I made an appointment to have it done, and returned home to California. Back in California I had a conversation with a man who had gone to another institution in Seattle specializing in radiation therapy for prostate cancer. This therapy involved radioactive rods inserted into the prostate. This was done for a while for three days in a row. Yes, I know this sounds horrible, but surgery isn't pretty, either. And the patient of the rod therapy walks out of the hospital. But, now, this man who had had the rod therapy years ago was having dramatic increases in his PSA. Surgeons are reluctant to do surgery on prostates that have received radioactive treatment. So surgery was not a great option for this man. I could hear the worry in his voice. After mulling this over for a few days, I called the Seattle Prostate Institute and cancelled my appointment. I had heard from a few people that one of the best surgeons for prostatectomy was Dr. Peter Carroll at UCSF, and he did my prostatectomy. I felt that I had the best doctor in the best hospital (though I did not feel that way about the side of the hospital where Dr. Carroll does his examinations). I am cancer free today.

Stilll, radiaton therapy is chosen often by men, and they have many choices of how the radiation is delivered.

Click here for a link to external beam radiation. I have talked to many men who have done this. They do get tired. Some people have expressed surprise that I did not do this considering that my prostate cancer had "extraencapsulated" -- escaped from the prostate.