Prostate Cancer Info

If you're looking for the latest treatment on prostate cancer, here are three new procedures that you should know about. Doctors are now able to achieve excellent results using robotic prostate surgery. Another very promising method is radioactive seed implantation therapy. Finally, in certain types of cases, doctors are now following a plan of watchful waiting. The following article will give you a quick overview of each treatment along with the reasons why they are better than past methods.

Robotic prostate surgery is an extremely promising to technique for treating prostate cancer. Prostate surgery normally is a serious operation with a fairly high risk of side effects and a long, painful recovery time. Robotic prostate surgery, on the other hand, is minimally invasive. That means that instead of making a large incision to operate, it is laparoscopic surgery. Robotic surgical tools, guided by the hand of an experienced surgeon, enter through a keyhole-sized opening and perform the prostate surgery. Side effects are drastically reduced and recovery is quicker and less painful.

Another latest treatment on prostate cancer is called radioactive seed implantation therapy (also called brachytherapy). Tiny seeds of iodine-125 or palladium-103 are implanted into the prostate gland. They deliver their dose of radiation directly to the cancerous cells without significantly damaging surrounding tissues. After a few months, the radiation is depleted and they become biologically inert. They can be left in the prostate gland permanently with no ill effects.

Sometimes prostate cancer grows slowly. With slow-growing prostate cancer, men with or without it live just as long. In older men, the possible side effects of treatment may be worse than the effects of the cancer. In these cases, physicians have begun to adopt a "treatment" of watchful waiting. Although no actual treatment is done, patients will make frequent doctor visits to monitor tumor growth.

And that's a look at the latest treatment on prostate cancer. Two new methods are showing excellent results: robotic prostate surgery and radioactive seed implantation therapy. But for some men, the best treatment may be watchful waiting. If you or someone you love is suffering from prostate cancer, discuss the latest treatment on prostate cancer with the doctor.

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