Anesthesia: Drugs used to put a patient to sleep in the operating room.
Benign: A disease or tumor that is not cancerous.
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH): Enlargement of the prostate gland not thought to be caused by cancer of the prostate.
Brachytherapy: A form of radiation therapy using a radioactive source(s). Brachytherapy is sometimes referred to as internal radiation. Prostate seed implantation is an example of brachytherapy.
Chemotherapy: Drug therapy used for the treatment of cancer.
Cryotherapy: Prostate cancer treatment which a freezing technique is used to kill cancer cells.
CT Scan: Computed Tomography is a diagnostic x-ray study that looks at a patient's anatomy in cross-section. CT scans can also be used in radiation therapy treatment planning.
Dosimetry: The use of specialized computer systems to carefully design a unique treatment plan for a radiation therapy patient. A specially-trained medical dosimetrist performs radiation dosimetry.
Downsizing: The shrinking of the prostate gland with hormonal therapy prior to seed implantation.
External Beam: Radiation treatment delivered to a patient by a sophisticated machine called a linear accelerator. During externa beam therapy, the radiation beam is specifically shaped and focused on a cancer. Daily treatment is generally given over a period of weeks.
Gynecologic cancers: Cancers affecting female reproductive organs.
Gleason Score: One of the factors used to make treatment decisions about prostate cancer. The pathologist looks at the prostate cancer cells under a microscope and gives them a score on a scale of 2 to 10. The higher the Gleason Score, the more aggressive the cancer may behave.
Hormonal Therapy: A medical treatment for prostate cancer using pills and/or shots. The goal of hormonal therapy is to reduce the testosterone in the blood, which slows the progression of prostate cancer. Hormonal therapy can also be used to shrink the prostate prior to seed implantation.
Incontinence: Results when a patient cannot hold back the flow of urine.
Impotency: The inability to obtain and sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse.
IGRT: Image Guided Radiation Therapy is a revolutionary imaging tool used during the external beam treatment process. IGRT technology allows localization of a tumor on a daily basis in order to optimize the radiation dose to the tumor while sparing as much normal tissue as possible.
IMRT: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy is a highly complex form of external beam radiation therapy. Not only is the radiation beam shaped to conform to the specific tumor, but also the beam strength is uniquely modified, or modulated, in order to optimize the dose of radiation to the tumor. IMRT requires specialized treatment planning computers and a staff trained in the technique of IMRT.
Iodine: A radioactive isotope (source) commonly used in radioactive prostate seed implants.
Iridium: A radioactive isotope (source) used in high dose rate brachytherapy. Iridium is most commonly used in the treatment of gynecologic cancers.
Linear Accelerator: A complex machine used to generate the high-powered x-rays used in external beam radiation therapy.
Malignant: Refers to cancer.
Medical Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the safe and effective delivery of chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
Medical Physicist: A specialized physicist who has expertise in the delivery of radiation therapy, dose calculation, treatment planning and quality assurance of all radiation therapy treatment equipment.
Metastasis: The spread of cancer from its site of origin to another area of the body.
Multi-leaf Collimator (MLC): The MLC is the beam-shaping device within the linear accelerator. Multiple small "leaves" move during a treatment to conform the beam to the shape of the tumor as defined during the treatment planning process.
Orchiectomy: The surgical removal of the testicles that is used to decrease the level of testosterone to halt the progression of prostate cancer.
Palladium: A radioactive isotope (source) used mainly in radioactive seed implants for prostate cancer.
Palliative therapy: Non-curative therapy aimed at alleviating symptoms such as pain, bleeding and spinal cord compression.
Pathologist: A physician specializing in diagnosing various disease processes using microscopic analysis.
PSA: Prostate Specific Antigen is a protein made by prostate cells. Prostate cancer cells are thought to make PSA in higher amounts than normal prostate cells. PSA is easily measured by a simple blood test and can be used in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.
Pubic Arch Interference: Obstruction of the prostate by the pelvic bones while in the seed implant position. Pubic arch interference mainly occurs as a result of a large prostate gland and can hinder accurate needle/seed placement during the implant procedure.
Radiation Oncologist: A physician specializing in Radiation Oncology. A radiation oncologist has board certification in the specific use and safe delivery of radiation for the treatment of cancer.
Radiation Therapist: A specialized radiation technologist who operates the linear accelerator in the treatment of cancer patients.
Radical Prostatectomy: The surgical removal of the prostate.
Stage: A way to describe the extent of the cancer. For example, early stage generally means the cancer has not spread. Late stage implies advanced disease that has spread to other parts of the body.
Testosterone: A male hormone responsible for "maleness" and is also thought to play a role in the development and progression of prostate cancer.
TURP: Transurethral resection of the prostate is a relatively minor procedure in which the urologist removes prostate tissue from around the urethral as it courses through the prostate. The goal is to relieve obstructed urinary flow from either benign causes or from cancer of the prostate gland.
Urologist: A physician specializing in male and female urinary disorders. A urologist has special training in the management of prostate cancer.
Volume Study: A simple ultrasound procedure used to study the size and shape of the prostate gland prior to seed implantation.