Side Effects Of Prostate Bed Radiation

For patients with metastatic disease irradiating the pelvis does not impact survival.

Side effects of prostate bed radiation.

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. In fact radiation therapy to the pelvis of a patient who had a radical prostatectomy may cause incontinence and diminish sexual function. These symptoms may happen in the 2nd or 3rd week of radiation therapy. Bladder function radiation may cause the bladder lining to become inflamed a condition called cystitis.

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. The term is most often used in the context of a surgical procedure known as a radical prostatectomy in which the prostate gland is removed in men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Even if radiation couldn t reach a tumor elsewhere couldn t this therapy benefit the prostate bed. Doctors will often use external radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients who want to avoid the risks of surgery.

Short term side effects. When it comes to treatment for prostate cancer men now have several good options advances in surgery radiation and endocrine therapy have greatly improved the prognosis for patients with this disease yet the many different choices including the various types of radiation therapy can be hard to sort out. 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. To help make sense of the options we spoke with michael zelefsky vice chair of.

Patients who receive any type of radiation therapy external beam or brachytherapy to treat their prostate cancer can have side effects. Below is a list of possible short term side effects. Treatments can affect each. However these radiotherapy side effects are less common and occur only when the radiation damages your body.

The prostate bed is a structure in the male pelvis situated just beneath the bladder where the prostate gland rests. Because the prostate is close to several vital structures radiation therapy can disrupt normal urinary bowel and sexual functioning. Radiation therapy side effects. Most side effects are temporary can be controlled and generally improve over time once treatment has ended.

Symptoms include pain or burning while urinating a feeling of urgency to urinate and frequency of urination.