Monday, October 20, 2008

Radiation for Prostate Cancer

Radiation for Prostate Cancer
My dad will be undergoing radiation for prostate cancer in 2 weeks. What can be expected? Will he be ok to drive home, or should someone take him? (I want to take him, he's insisting he can drive.) What are other symptoms to expect from radiation?
Cancer - 3 Answers
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1 :
People usually have 4-8 hours following radiation treatment before they begin to feel the side effects. So, he should be able to drive himself if it is a relatively short drive, and it he goes straight home. The side effects are primarily loss of appetite, nausea, extreme fatigue, and sometimes pain/burning in the area that was irradiated.
2 :
In alot of places they now implant radioactive pieces directly into the prostate gland. He should not drive home. Other symptoms can be fatigue, skin rashes. I wish your Dad well.
3 :
I assume that the radiation treatment will be either IMRT (intensity modulated RT) or IGRT (image guided RT). Dad won't feel anything at all during the few minutes it takes to perform each treatment. After the session, he should be able to drive (assuming that he's not otherwise disabled). Men who are employed usually continue during the course of treatment. Here is a link to a very thorough article on the subject, from the encyclopedic website of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute: http://www.prostate-cancer.org/education/localdis/Chaiken_IMRT.html or http://tinyurl.com/2a63lw So far as side effects (SEs) are concerned, no one can be sure which or to what degree Dad will experience them -- or not. The above article includes information on SEs and their frequency in large study cohorts. One thing Dad will learn is that there is little certainty in this business. Good luck.

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