Alternative cancer treatments
Since the 1940s, medical science has developed chemotherapy, radiation therapy, adjuvant therapy and the newer targeted therapies, as well as refined surgical techniques for removing cancer. Before the development of these modern, evidence-based treatments, 90% of cancer patients died within five years. With modern mainstream treatments, only 34% of cancer patients die within five years. However, while mainstream forms of cancer treatment generally prolong life or permanently cure cancer, most treatments also have side effects ranging from unpleasant to fatal, such as pain, blood clots, fatigue, and infection. These side effects and the lack of a guarantee that treatment will be successful create appeal for alternative treatments for cancer, which purport to cause fewer side effects or to increase survival rates despite evidence to suggest a 2–5 fold increase in death with alternative medicines.
Management of prostate cancer
Radiation therapy, also known as radiotherapy, is often used to treat all stages of prostate cancer. It is also often used after surgery if the surgery was not successful at curing the cancer. Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation to kill prostate cancer cells. When absorbed in tissue, ionizing radiation such as gamma and x-rays damage the DNA in cancer cells, which increases the probability of apoptosis (cell death). Normal cells are able to repair radiation damage, while cancer cells are not. Radiation therapy exploits this fact to treat cancer. Two different kinds of radiation therapy are used in prostate cancer treatment: external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy (specifically prostate brachytherapy).