If you are enjoying all of the benefits of the prime of your life, which may include recently paying off your home, getting the vehicle of your dreams, retiring after a lifetime of dedication to a job, or partaking in wonderful vacations with your spouse, the last thing you want to hear from your doctor is that you are now in need of treatment of prostate cancer. For most of us, cancer is a terrifying and loaded word, and its diagnosis oftentimes could not have come at a more inconvenient time. However, try to keep in mind that this news is not the end of the world for you, and you have many prostate cancer options in front of you. Here are six facts about prostate cancer and prostate cancer care.
One: One form of treatment of prostate cancer is proton therapy. This type of non-invasive cancer treatment is a newer form of radiation that stops at a very specific point in the cancer stricken tissues. In contrast, traditional radiation will move beyond the effected tissue or tumor and will touch neighboring tissues and organs.
Two: If you have been diagnosed with low risk prostate cancer, you have a 99% chance of no signs of cancer relapse in the five years after finishing the proton therapy treatment of prostate cancer. The odds for intermediate risk are 94% and for high risk people who are seeking advanced cancer treatment options, those odds are 74%.
Three: Proton therapy is rapidly gaining recognition and popularity in the world. In fact, in 2015, 30 treatment centers and medical professionals entirely dedicated to proton therapy were constructed across the globe.
Four: The highly accurate method of proton therapy cancer treatment means that the healthy tissues and organs surrounding the cancerous area are extremely more likely to remain functioning and healthy. This means that, with proton beam radiation, you have a much lower risk of emerging cancer free but impotent; in fact, according to doctors, 94% of men who have used this treatment report remaining sexually active as usual following treatment.
Five: In traditional radiation therapy, even organ structures relatively distal from your prostate can be adversely affected. Proton radiation therapy, however, is highly focused and significantly reduces the damage to the rest of your body; studies have shown that proton therapy reduced the average radiation dose to the gastrointestinal system by around 60%.
Six: Your lifestyle will scarcely be affected by your proton therapy treatment program. Patients spend an average of 15 to 45 minutes in the treatment center per session, with only about 60 to 120 seconds of that time being actual proton beam treatment. The biggest chunk of your treatment time will actually consist of paperwork, disrobing, and conversing with your doctor.
No matter your mortality odds and the severity of the cancer, a cancer diagnosis is always a scary thing. However, the treatment process does not always have to be a nightmare. If your doctor has recently delivered the prostate cancer news, get in touch with a proton radiation therapy center near you right away.