Prostate Problems - Brachytherapy For Prostate Cancer

The principle of treating cancer with radiation is that radiation is a damaging impact on living tissues. In this situation, the radiation is used for therapeutic purposes only focus.There are two kinds of radiation therapy for ccsvi: this external radiation radiation and brachytherapy.TeletherapyThe most common form of radiation therapy in cancer, including prostate cancer, is teletherapy. In order to irradiation of prostate tumefaction was focused before treatment is completed to identify the required region using computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Currently, there are specific programs that permit you to create three-dimensional "picture" of the tumor and immediate rays of radiation directly to tumors.Intensive modulated radiation therapy enables the physician to modulate, ie, adjust the depth of the radiation dose to supply the greatest amount of the tumor and decrease the dose of radiation that affects the surrounding healthy tissue (the bladder and rectum). In certain medical centers commonly used proton radiation, allowing the doctor to higher regulate the consequence of radiation, but, this type of treatment has not been fully understood and is under clinical trials. The bonus of this type of radiotherapy is that radiation is inclined to the pathological focus, without affecting or minimally affecting the encompassing areas and organs.Regardless of the type used distant radiation therapy, radiation exposure is carried out within 5 days a week, and the course of radiation therapy endures 7 - 8 weeks. Generally, radiation therapy is done on an outpatient basis, that's, an individual comes to irradiation and again after it moves home.BrachytherapyAmong the main advantages of rural radiation therapy could be observed a lot better than prostatectomy, flexibility, lower chance of developing issues such as Impotence and incontinence, as well as the possibility of outpatient treatment.At the same time, with this specific form of radiation therapy may be influenced next to the prostate cells and organs: the bladder and anus, which is demonstrated and rectal radiation cystitis (inflammation of the bladder and rectal mucosa), as well as ray sores. Length of rural radiation therapy reaches 7 - 2 months to reduce injury to healthier tissue.With this at heart, oncologists try to create a radically new way of radiation therapy, which may have impacted directly on the cancer and therefore minimally affected (or perhaps doesn't affect) the neighboring tissues and organs. In the early 20 th century were used for this particular feed, created from the radioactive material (radium, gold ).In the 80 years of the last century is promoting a brand new technique which permitted to establish a prostate tumor radioactive material - was used for the transrectal access (ie, through the colon) and performed this technique under ultrasound.Thus, the rule of brachytherapy is that light influences the tumor is not outside, that is, she doesn't need to pass through the thick of all the surrounding balanced tissue, and inside the tumor itself.Today, for being the introduction of brachytherapy seeds of radioactive iodine-125 using special needles. Once the grains are released in to the prostate of the radioactive material, needles are eliminated and the grains stay static in the prostate. The half-life of radioactive iodine-125 is 60 days. Due to the fact that radiation is sent straight into the prostate tissue, it may dramatically decrease the amount of radiation, which really helps to prevent needless exposure of neighboring organs and tissues.What explains the success of brachytherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer?First, the 10-year survival of individuals after brachytherapy is almost 80%. On the effectiveness of brachytherapy identical with radical prostatectomy. But, the number of complications, it has advantages over the operation: for instance, such complications as urinary incontinence after brachytherapy doesn't create more than 4%, and impotence - number more than 15%.Another important benefit of brachytherapy is that after this procedure, the patient is released from the hospital on the same or next day and returned to normalcy inside a few days.How is brachytherapyThe procedure for the release of radioactive seeds in to the prostate requires about 1 hour. The whole process is done under the supervision of TRUS - transrectal ultrasound, when the ultrasound transducer unit is released to the rectum. Radioactive seeds (often 60 - 90) are released into the prostate using the particular hook through the skin of the perineum. After the following day the method, the bladder catheter, which can be removed. Then a patient is discharged home.