Prostate Cancer Treatment with Radiation Therapy: Experienced Prostate Cancer Urologist in NYC

Prostate cancer is a very common problem experienced by men. About 15 % of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their life typically after age 50.

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer is a well-established treatment option with a long track record of efficacy and safety.

While in the past radiation therapy for prostate cancer was associated with significant risk of side effects, over the past 20 years radiation therapy became more targeted and more precise which allows radiation oncologist to minimize side effects from radiation while maximizing the efficacy of treatment by delivering more radiation that kills prostate cancer cells directly to the prostate.

What are the Treatment Options Available for Prostate Cancer Treatment?

Radiation therapy can be delivered to the prostate in 2 ways. Radiation can be targeted from outside to the prostate (external beam radiation therapy, IMRT) or radiation seeds can be implanted directly in the prostate (brachytherapy). In addition, external radiation therapy can also be combined with brachytherapy (radiation seeds implanted in the prostate).

There are many different variations of external beam radiation as well as brachytherapy (implantation of radiation bearing seeds in the prostate).

Most common way to deliver external radiation to the prostate is through IMRT. Proton radiation therapy is another type of external beam radiation therapy.