Prostate Cancer Treatments: A Possible Cause Of Erectile Dysfunction
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Treatments for Prostate Cancer: A Glance

Prostate cancer refers to the cancer of the prostate gland and it is said to occur when a diseased growth crops up in the prostate gland or specific abnormal tumor cells are produced in the prostate gland. However, a variety of procedures are available to treat and cure prostate cancer, some of which are:

• A specific treatment process known as Cryosurgery in which extreme cold is used to root out cancerous tissues.
• Surgery with radical prostatectomy is aimed at removing the entire prostate gland.
• Radiation therapy is a definite process to treat prostate cancer and in this procedure, treatment is undertaken by using radioactive seed implants (brachytherapy) or external beam.
• Hormone therapy is also used for treating prostate cancer.
• "Watchful waiting" is treatment mode undertaken to cure prostate cancer in patients and this treatment process is all about closely monitoring a patient's condition without providing a specific treatment till all the symptoms start to appear or undergo a sudden change.

Prostate Cancer Treatments& Erectile Dysfunction: An Overview

Several procedures used for treating erectile dysfunction, namely, Radiation therapy, Radical prostatectomy and Hormone therapy are likely to cause erectile dysfunction in men. The general tidbits on these treatment processes and male erectile dysfunction are specifically mentioned below:

• Erectile dysfunction occurs gradually after radiation therapy and generally erectile dysfunction in men starts off after six weeks of radiation therapy treatment. However, if no specific treatment is undertaken to cure this type of erectile dysfunction, it becomes wholly permanent.
• Radical prostatectomy is a certain prostate cancer treatment procedure that is also capable of leading to erectile dysfunction. Regardless of whether nerve-sparing or non-nerve-sparing technique is utilized in the treatment of prostate cancer, a patient may become victim of erectile dysfunction instantly as soon as the whole prostate and adjacent tissues are removed in the surgery. However, if the nerve sparing procedure is utilized in the treatment, erectile dysfunction may trigger off within an year of adopting this treatment process.
• Hormone therapy used in the treatment of prostate cancer can also facilitate erectile dysfunction in men and this type of erectile dysfunction usually becomes permanent when left untreated. Generally, 2-4 weeks after starting off prostate cancer treatment with hormone therapy, erectile dysfunction results in men. A reduced desire for having sex is generally found to accompany this type of erectile dysfunction.

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