Radiation Therapy – Before Treatment
At the Weiser Center for Prostate Cancer, you and your loved ones are at the center of every step along the care journey. We are committed to partnering with you in shared decisions around your care in an environment of healing and comfort. We promise our patients open, respectful communication and compassionate, world-class cancer care.
What is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation therapy is a proven, highly effective curative treatment option for prostate cancer. It focuses on eliminating prostate cancer cells using high-energy rays or particles.
Radiation therapy is non-invasive, meaning it is often performed externally and therefore does not involve a significant operation. It also is precise, targeting the cancerous cells in the prostate while sparing the surrounding healthy bladder, rectal and erectile tissues as much as possible. This allows radiation oncologists to deliver personalized, highly accurate treatment while minimizing side effects and preserving quality of life.
Starting Your Journey
The first step in planning treatment is an initial consultation with a radiation oncologist and a urologist (surgeon). You will meet with these specialists for a thorough review of your medical history and to talk through the potential benefits and risks of treatment.
Following the initial consultation, a member of our care team will call to begin scheduling your appointments for specialized imaging and other potential procedures. You will also be connected to one of our patient navigators to ensure you and your loved ones have access to appropriate services. Along with our advanced practice nurses, patient navigators provide educational, emotional and logistical support to help with the stress of disease and treatment.
Patient navigators at the Weiser Center for Prostate Cancer are personal guides and serve as a single point of contact for you and your family. Their key task is to assist you through the entire journey of prostate cancer treatment. From explaining medical processes to coordinating with teams regarding insurance coverage and appointment scheduling, they take care of everything so you can focus on healing.
The pre-treatment planning period, including specialized imaging called simulation, takes approximately two to four weeks.
Next Step – CT or MRI Simulation
A critical step in planning external beam radiation therapy is CT and MRI simulation. This specialized, detailed imaging of the prostate and surrounding areas maps the exact location of the cancer and surrounding organs to ensure precise delivery of radiation.
Simulations allow the radiation therapy team to combine your imaging and biopsy results to create your customized radiation plan. The team includes your radiation oncologist, as well as physicists and dosimetrists – specialists who are experts in calculating the physics and dosage of the radiation beam.
Depending on your individual situation, your doctor may discuss with you the option of placing very small gold pellets called fiducial markers within or near the site of the tumor. These pellets act as landmarks to ensure accurate targeting of the radiation beams during treatment. Your doctor may also recommend injecting a special hydrogel into the space between the prostate and the rectum. This creates extra space, which lowers the radiation dose that can affect the rectum and reduces risk of rectal injury. Both of these procedures are done on an outpatient basis before the simulation.
Preparing for CT or MRI Simulation
You will have a consultation appointment with a radiation oncology advanced practice nurse a few days before your CT simulation where you will receive specific instructions to follow to prepare for the procedure. We advise patients to have a full bladder and an empty rectum for the simulation and the radiation treatments that will follow. This helps keep the prostate in a consistent position and minimizes radiation exposure to surrounding tissues.
We also recommend adjusting your diet to reduce gas, which can affect the position of the prostate. This includes avoiding foods that can cause gas, like beans, broccoli and carbonated beverages. You should wear loose, comfortable clothing and remove any metal objects, such as jewelry, which might interfere with imaging equipment.
At this appointment you will also learn what to expect during treatment, such as possible side effects and how they are managed, so you can feel confident and prepared as you start your treatment.
Expert, Patient-Centered Care
Throughout the scheduling and pre-planning time, your care team will keep you updated and answer any questions you and your family have.
Caring for the whole person is at the heart of everything we do. It is our promise to ensure that each and every patient feels comfortable and supported by the world-class care at Michigan Medicine.