RADIATION TREATMENT FOR PROSTATE CANCER: HOW IS AIMED RADIATION AT PROSTATE?
Radiation to the prostate is aimed at a specific, limited area—the prostate and surrounding tissue. Therefore, frankly, radiation isn’t going to have any effect on the cancer cells growing outside this targeted area. Nor will hormone therapy cure this advanced prostate cancer; at this point, it simply isn’t good enough to eliminate all the cancer cells growing outside the prostate. Also, unfortunately, at present there is no effective form of chemotherapy able to achieve this vital goal, either.
At the writing of this book, there is not any form of treatment that will eliminate all the cancerous cells once the cancer has reached the lymph nodes.
And so, again, the big, tough question: What should you do? Although all these forms of treatment may be necessary someday, we believe that taking any of these steps now will not prolong your life. (And conversely, not taking them now will not shorten your life.) All that will happen, if you begin these forms of treatment now, is that your quality of life will be disrupted.
For these reasons, we believe that men in this situation should opt for watchful waiting now. This decision of watchful waiting may be one of the hardest you’ll ever have to make, but remember: Watchful waiting doesn’t mean being passive. It means treating specific symptoms if and when they arise. In this case, watchful waiting should also mean that your doctor will monitor your health very carefully and that you will have a physical examination, including a digital rectal exam, PSA, and serum creatinine tests, every three to six months, as well as a bone scan every six to twelve months.
*187\201\8*
