Study Shows Prostate Cancer Treatments May Be Worse Than Disease

Study Shows Prostate Cancer Treatments May Be Worse Than Disease

A Vanderbilt University study revealed that men go through more pervasive complications after radiation therapy or surgery for prostate cancer. Within two years time, majority of the men became impotent no matter which treatment they opted to use to treat prostate cancer.

The research that was published on The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that over a third of men who underwent radiation therapy had issues with bowel control.

The article’s senior author, Dr. David Penson, indicated that not all patients with prostate cancer require these kinds of treatments. Around one-third of the tumors can be monitored closely since they grow slow.

One of six men in the US are diagnosed with prostate cancer. The common treatments for the disease were the removal of the prostate through surgery or through radiation therapy. It is possible for the cancer to spread throughout the body if it is not treated, which means men should visit their doctor to know what they can do to treat the disease.

Men normally live an average of fourteen more years if they undergo prostate cancer treatment. The study monitored 1,655 men in the study. The men were diagnosed with the disease and were aged between 55 and 74. Around one-third underwent radiation therapy while the rest had surgery to treat their prostate cancer.

Those who went through surgery encountered more complications a few years after they went through treatment however the difference was minimal when the study ended.

There was no comparison made with men who left their prostate cancer untreated or with older men who did not have prostate cancer.

A number of urologists may be anxious with the result of the study since many purchased radiation therapy devices that are meant to deal with the disease. Penson indicated that patients should discuss their options with their provider in their prostate cancer treatment since the disease brings in good business.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday January 31 2013, 10:06 AM EST. Ref: Tennessean. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0