Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. One in six men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. The chances of getting prostate cancer go up as men age. It is also more common in African-American men. Prostate cancer can also be hereditary, so if your father or brother had prostate cancer you are more likely to get it yourself.
Some of the symptoms of prostate cancer include the feeling that you have to urinate urgently, having hesitancy when urinating and pain or bleeding during urination. If you have any of these symptoms you should see your physician.
Your physician may perform a simple blood test, PSA, if you are having symptoms or at your yearly physical. And, if for any reason your doctor suspects that you might have prostate cancer they may perform a biopsy.
If your doctor finds that you have prostate cancer you should discuss all your treatment options with an urologist, a surgeon who specializes in the urinary tract and a radiation oncologist. A radiation oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy involves a series of daily treatments to deliver radiation to the prostate. It is delivered with several different techniques that your radiation oncologist can help you choose. The following are some of the radiation therapy options that you are most likely to discuss with your radiation oncologist:
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, IMRT. This method allows the radiation oncologist to increase the radiation dose to the prostate while reducing radiation to nearby normal tissues.
Image Guided Radiotherapy, IGRT. This involves the use of x-ray imaging at the time of treatment to aid in accurate positioning of the treatment.
Brachytherapy or High Dose Rate, HDR. This involves treating the cancer by inserting radioactive sources or “seeds” directly into the prostate.
Men age 50 and over should receive a routine digital rectal exam, DRE, and PSA blood testing. African-American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer should be examined beginning at the age of 45.
Please feel free to contact us at Providence Holy Cross Cancer Center, 661-288-5965. Also, you are welcome to come to our Cancer Education Center with free use of a computer with internet access. We’re at 26357 McBean Parkway, Suite 150.