New Prostate Treatment Can Help Retain Sexual Function
Cancer is the largest reason for death around the world and prostate cancer is the second leading killer of men in the United States. It is a serious illness experienced usually when men are of a mature age, however men of any age can be diagnosed with the disease. According to current statistics, prostate cancer caused over 200 thousand men in the US to suffer and 28,372 to die in 2006. The good news is that even in the advanced stages of the disease, the survival rate of men for more than five years is almost 100 percent.
This impressive survival rate is attributed to the advances that modern science and technology have made in screening for and the treatment of the cancer. Based on diagnosis rates of men between 2005 and 2007, the risk of any man contracting the cancer from the time of birth until death is approximately 16.22 percent worldwide. However, with proper screening, the cancer is caught in its early stages and in many cases, complete remission and lifetime recovery is almost 100 percent certain.
One current screening method of prostate cancer includes a digital rectal exam in which a health care professional, usually the family doctor or a urologist, feels the prostate to determine if it is enlarged by inserting a finger into the rectum. A blood test that tests for the specific levels of the antigens produced by the prostate, called a PSA test is the other current screening. Most ailments that affect the prostate, including prostate cancer, tend to elevate the level of PSA in the bloodstream. A blood test that shows high levels of PSA may be indicative of cancer.
If these screening tests determine there is a possibility for cancer, diagnostic testing is performed, which consists of a biopsy of the prostate. The biopsy is the only sure way of determining the presence of cancer. If the biopsy returns a positive result, depending on the advancement of the cancer, treatment is pursued.
The cancer treatment for all stages of prostate cancer include watching it to see if it grown, as some do not, radiation, hormone therapy or chemotherapy, all of which can be used to treat early stages. Sometimes, to prevent further growth, a radical prostatectemy is performed to remove the entire prostate in addition to the tissue around the prostate to prevent further growth of cells that may have been left behind. Additionally, other experimental treatments including pinpoint treatment could also be sued.
There is a newer method of cancer treatment of the prostate that can help save the surrounding tissue. This treatment consists of using a narrow focused and high intensity beam of radiation to pinpoint the exact spot where the cancer cells are without damaging the surrounding tissue, essentially removing only the cancerous tissue and nothing else. The implications of this treatment are great and could mean that men who might once have had to have their entire prostate removed may now have the ability to keep it instead, while still killing the prostate cancer.
Most treatments for prostate cancer, especially those that include radical surgery or hormone therapy, leave men without the ability or desire to perform sexually. The pinpoint treatment could allow any man diagnosed with prostate cancer the possibility of continuing to have a normal sex life, even after the radiation treatment is executed. Pinpoint cancer treatment of the prostate is, by far, one of the most innovative and promising treatments available today and can help men regain their confidence, not to mention their lives.