The radiation method, popular today in treating diseases similar to the prostate cancer, was discovered back in the early 20^th century and consisted in intraprostatic radium implants which were replaced soon afterwards with the external beam radiation; the radiotherapy has the advantage of damaging the DNA of the cancerous cells and stop their growth and multiplication.

The radiation therapy involves two types of procedures: the external proton beam radiation and the brachytherapy or the internal beam radiation which uses radioactive seeds, small in size, inserted into the infected gland and left there to decay.

Both external and internal radiation therapies used in treating the prostate cancer have their side-effects, but the chances of damaging the healthy tissues surrounding the prostate gland are less frequent if the radioactive seeds are directly inserted through a needle in the prostate. The external radiation must be performed in strict conditions by the medical experts because an incorrect radiation dose might endanger the general health of the patient.



Cancer is one of those ruthless diseases that develop no matter the age and the general health of a patient though it is often recommended to lead a healthy life, especially after a certain age. This healthy life style can be achieved by having plenty of exercises daily and avoiding the poor alimentation in nutritional foods and bad habits such as excessive smoking and alcohol drinking. The aging process is not something that you can prevent and it is well known the fact that many hormonal problems are caused by it.

And since out main interest is the prostate cancer, which is a frequent type of cancer, having as main causes the factors mentioned before but also the genetic inheritance and race. African-American men are more exposed in developing a prostate cancer but this disease can also be inherited, even if in the family records the prostate cancer medical history does not exist.

There are no early symptoms to make the cancer noticeable at an early stage and even if some unusual symptoms are reported, such as frequent urination or pain when ejaculating, there is also the possibility for them not to be related with the existence of a malignant tumor.

Only the malignant tumors are responsible for the apparition of cancer but the benign tumors are potentially dangerous when they are not treated and eventually evolve into more aggressive forms; usually the enlargement of the prostate is caused by the benign prostatic hyperplasia or some other hormonal problems, but if without treatment, these medical conditions can evolve into more aggressive forms.

The screenings are basically two examinational procedures: the digital rectal method done by palpating the prostate gland with a gloved finger inserted into the rectum to feel any abnormalities such as lumps or hardness and the blood samples taken to establish the normal or abnormal levels of the prostate specific antigen, the abnormal levels indicating a health problem.

By interpreting the obtained results, the medical specialist will decide to continue or not the medical examination with the prostate biopsy, which is the best method of cancer detection, sometimes complemented with new ones such as the nomogram, the prostate mapping and the radionuclide bone scans or the coaxial tomography.

These medical investigation procedures are also useful in determining the characteristics of a cancer, if it is diagnosed; the staging and grading process are the last steps after prescribing one certain form of treatment, either being surgery, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, cryotherapy or the prostate cancer radiation treatment.



The medical research studies have concluded that in comparison to treatment alternatives such as prostatectomy, androgen deprivation therapy, cryotherapy or chemotherapy, the side effects of the radiotherapy are less health damaging but in some cases, the commonly reported incontinence and impotence can be permanent.

The prognosis for the prostate cancer outcome can be very difficult because each type of cancer, in fact, each cancer is unique and its progression depends on the general health of that particular person diagnosed with it; in the first stage the cancer cells appear only in the infected gland, with a slow growth of almost four years for the tumor to double its size, but eventually reaching outside the prostate capsule, the cancer becoming locally advanced and evolving into more aggressive forms such as the metastases in some cases.