Treatments and Side Effects
Surgery: several small cuts are made to the abdomen to insert long surgical tools, which the surgeon maneuvers while sitting at a control panel to remove all areas of the cancer
Side Effects: Long recovery times, pain.
Radiation Therapy: Beams of radiation are focused on the prostate gland to target and destroy cancer cells. It can be from a machine outside the body or from implanted radioactive seeds. This is typically used to try and cure earlier stage cancers or to treat cancers that have moved outside of the prostate. Treatments are given 5 days a week in an outpatient center for several weeks.
Radiation Side Effects: Bowel problems, urinary problems, erectile dysfunction, feeling tired, lymphedema. The radiation tends to affect the organs around the prostate in strange ways, causing the body to struggle to stabilize.