Prostate Cancer Cryo Treatment

Being one of the highest occurrence diseases next to lung cancer, prostate cancer comes with an equally extensive range of treatments. So we have Radical Surgery, Radiation and Brachytherapy (implanting of radioactive seeds), Laparoscopic Surgery, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Proton Beam (uncommon) among all others. But are these treatments effective?

All medical procedures carry a risk but sometimes risks can be lived if the medical procedures themselves are effective. Unfortunately, those that are mentioned are none very effective, with success rate below average. And unfortunately still, it seems most medical specialists would recommend these medical procedures as the better prostate cancer treatment.

Of all choices regarding prostate cancer medical procedure, cryo treatment is the least mentioned. Yet for its status quo, prostate cancer cryo treatment is perhaps the best medical procedure for prostate cancer. And it should be considered by patients and medical practitioners alike as a more efficient way to address prostate cancer problems.

Prostate cancer cryo treatment is a technique that uses liquid argon to destroy cancer cells in the prostate. By controlled freezing the affected area, the tumor cells are completely destroyed. The freezing forms ice within the cells, and during the rapid thawing process, these cell membranes ruptures and dies. Because it is precisely controlled, the affected areas are the only ones destroyed but leaving the surrounding healthy tissues unharmed.

A number of probes, rarely fewer than 3 but depending on the degree of the disease, are penetrated through the perinea skin located between the anus and the scrotum, and directly below the prostate gland. The process is guided by 3D Color Doppler Trans-rectal Ultrasound that also monitors the freezing process in real time. But if the prostate gland had enlarged to a specific limit, the gland may first be subjected to cytoreduction with neoadjuvant hormonal ablation before the actual prostate cancer cryo treatment.

One advantage of prostate cancer cryo treatment than other medical practice is that it is minimally invasive than most procedures so it has fewer complications. And because results gather right after the procedure, the doctor can then determine of the treatment was successful, as opposed to radiation treatment wherein the results would show after a year or two.

Unfortunately, there has been a high percentage of sexual dysfunction associated with prostate cancer cryo treatment. Mostly it is erectile difficulty and/ or impotence. Aside from that, another problem is the scarcity of medical specialists adept in prostate cancer cryo treatment, and it is procedure that is skill-intensive in order for the procedure to be successful.