Side Effects From Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy also called x ray therapy uses high levels of radiation to kill prostate cancer cells or keep them from growing and dividing while minimizing damage to healthy cells.

Side effects from prostate cancer radiation therapy. Radiation therapy has side effects because it not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Radiation therapy has long been a staple of treatment for many types of cancers. Short term complications you may experience some temporary urinary symptoms such as waking up in the night and needing to urinate needing to urinate more often during the day or urgency needing to. Because the prostate is close to several vital structures radiation therapy can disrupt normal urinary bowel and sexual functioning.

Learn more about possible side effects. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. Patients who receive any type of radiation therapy external beam or brachytherapy to treat their prostate cancer can have side effects. Many people who get radiation therapy experience fatigue.

Depending on the stage of the prostate cancer and other factors radiation therapy might be used. The type and severity of side effects you have with external beam radiation for prostate cancer may depend on the dose and on the amount of healthy tissue that s exposed to the radiation. Other side effects depend on the part of the body that is being treated. As the first treatment for cancer that is still just in the prostate gland and is low grade cure rates for men with these types of cancers are about the same as those for men treated with radical prostatectomy.

Doctors will often use external radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients who want to avoid the risks of surgery. When it comes to prostate cancer there are two kinds of radiation treatment. The side effects of external beam radiation therapy tend to be less severe than the side effects of other prostate cancer treatments. Below is a list of possible short term side effects.

However these radiotherapy side effects are less common and occur only when the radiation damages your body. Long term side effects of radiation therapy for prostate cancer studies show that over time men who have undergone this procedure tend to develop long term side effects.