One common form of treatment today for localized prostate cancer is radiation therapy which uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. These x-rays can either be delivered using an external radiation beam or by implanting radiation ’seeds’ into the prostate gland.

External beam radiation therapy treatments are normally given on a daily basis 5 days a week (Monday to Friday) for anything up to about 6 or 7 weeks and each treatment, which is painless, lasts for just a few minutes. (Such treatments are also commonly given to patients whose cancer is no longer localized to the prostate gland but has spread into the pelvis and can also be used to relieve pain and reduce tumors in cases of advanced prostate cancer.)

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To address my post-prostatectomy impotence, I used the vacuum system to gain an erection. My engorged penis turned blue and cold. According to the equipment instructions, it can be used for up to thirty minutes. I could, however, answer the question of my urologist, Dr. Ram Rao: “Did you have penetration?” Yes. Not great, but a step forward.

Next came Caverject. There we were in Dr. Rao’s pristine office with wall charts and drawings depicting all things urological in living color. Dr. Rao, a trim, handsome man of about 55, a native of India, stood on my left, orchestrating this show. My wife, Lorraine was on my right, her face asking the question “What am I doing here?” On center stage I stood with my limp penis, extended by my left hand, as I awaited the first act.

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One in six men experience prostate cancer. It is one of the leading causes of death in American men. If left untreated, it can gradually spread to other parts of the body and become irreversible.

Even though you have prostate cancer, you may not notice the symptoms at all especially in the initial stage. If you are over 40 years old, it is recommended that you have your prostate examined to detect any cancer cells.

You can take Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) tests to detect prostate cancer. However, they are not accurate. Always check with your doctor for other prostate examinations.

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Every year there are about one million prostate biopsies carried out in the United States alone, of which about 25 percent show the presence of prostate cancer. However, another 25 percent of these biopsies also produce false negative results, which means that a quarter of those men undergoing a prostate biopsy are being cleared by their biopsy, despite the fact that they do in fact have prostate cancer.

These results do not means that there is anything wrong with the prostate biopsy procedure as a tool for identifying prostate cancer, but it does mean that there is a need to identify those patients who, despite returning a negative result, are at high risk from prostate cancer and should therefore undergo a second follow-up biopsy.

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Although surgery is often recommended as a cure for prostate gland cancer, many men are currently denied this option simply on the grounds of age and most surgeons will not carry out prostate surgery on men over the age of seventy. But things may be about to change.

In a recently published study death and complication rates were examined for more than 11,000 men who underwent prostate cancer surgery in Canada between 1990 and 1999, including a number of men over the age of seventy. Indeed, the oldest man in the study group was seventy-nine.

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The most common type of cancer diagnosed in men is prostate cancer. The prostate is walnut-sized gland found only in men. According to the American Cancer Society, about 218,890 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2007 and about 27,050 men will die of prostate cancer. But the death rate is decreasing, perhaps in part because of early diagnosis.

In the early stages a patient may not exhibit any symptoms. However, after it is advanced, the patient may experience:

* Frequent urination
* A weak flow of urine
* Burning urination
* Painful ejaculation
* Blood in the urine semen.

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