What kind of radiation treatments are used to eliminate prostate cancer?
Either external and/or internal (implant) radiation can be used. The basic principle of radiation therapy is to bombard the cancer with rays at doses which damage or destroy the cancer yet produce only a minimum of damage to the surrounding normal tissues. What type of external radiation is used? External radiation employs either a linear accelerator or a cobalt 60 source to pinpoint the delivery of the radiation dosage. Some doctors use radiation as the primary treatment for prostate cancers in early stages. Others use it as additional therapy for some patients with later stage disease. Radiation is usually given four or five times a week over a period of 6 or 7 weeks. It is important that the patient be in good enough general physical condition to tolerate this heavy concentration of high energy radiation. How are radium implants used in prostatic cancer? Radioactive gold (Au198 ), iodine (I 125 ), or iridium (Ir 192 ) is implanted directly into the tumor. Wi...