Prostate Cancer is not a fun topic to discuss, but chances are many of your friends and neighbors have also been previously diagnosed and had to make similar choices with their treatment courses. The best way to feel comfortable about your upcoming treatment is to be informed and ask as many questions as you feel necessary to feel good about your decisions.
It is natural to want to take an active part in making the decisions involved with your treatment course and care, and to become as informed as possible on the various procedures and technologies currently available to you to make these decisions. If you are visiting this site, chances are your Physician has prescribed External Beam Radiation (IMRT, Proton, 3D-CRT), HDR as the treatment of choice for your individual plan.
We assume your Physician has addressed these treatments with you, and will focus on one of the latest technologies utilized by the treatment facilities.
Studies have shown the prostate can move internally up to 5mm (1/2 inch), even after you have been positioned and secured (immobilized) externally. Anatomy movement is one of the key factors informed health care providers take into consideration when planning a specific path for the radiation dose.
There are many excellent technologies available to help monitor the internal movement of the prostate during your treatment period. IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy), and BAT Ultrasound are just a few. These technologies offer superior tracking capabilities during imaging and treatment, but do not offer any internal function to actually limit the movement of the prostate.
Placement of the RadiaDyne Prostate Immobilizer Device by your care provider is performed for many reasons during radiation treatment of the prostate.
The balloon acts primarily as an immobilizer (holds in place) reducing the daily variations in location of the prostate, and allowing the rectum and prostate to be positioned in a more predictable and reproducible location during the treatment course. Because of the decreased probability of the prostate moving out of the treatment fields, smaller treatment margins around the prostate may be used. This will have the effect of lowering the radiation dose to the normal tissue surrounding the prostate and lowering the incidence of rectal toxicity.
The balloon also serves a second, but equally important role. When filled with air or water, the rectal balloon will increase the size of the rectum along the posterior aspect (away from the prostate). Since the treatment margin prescribed into the rectum is a fixed volume, increasing the size of the non-targeted rectum has the effect of lowering the percentage of total rectal structure irradiated.
In essence, the rectum stretches out of the way of the radiation fields and a smaller percentage is within the treatment margin. The link between lowering the percentage of the rectum receiving a high dose of radiation and a decreased presentation of toxicity has long been clinically established.
Because cancer treatments often damage healthy tissue with the targeted tissue, side effects can occur. Side effects may not be the same for all patients, and may change from one treatment to the next. These side effects should be discussed with your treating Physician.
What Should I Expect?
Although not an experience any patient desires, the potential rewards outweigh the discomforts of the insertion of the balloon. Studies with large patient samplings have shown patients tolerate the use of rectal balloons for prostate immobilization very well. The balloon has been designed with you, the patient in mind, and offers the smallest diameter device on the market today. The balloon is not much larger than a rectal suppository and still smaller than equipment used for a colonoscopy. It is actually smaller in diameter than a human finger used for a digital rectum exam. Similar to having a rectal thermometer inserted, a technician will use lubrication to ease the initial insertion. Once the balloon is placed in the proper location, it will then be filled with a prescribed volume of air or water to immobilize the prostate and meet the Physician orders for the technology. After treatment the balloon will be deflated, removed, and discarded. The balloon insertion portion of the treatment usually takes less than a minute. The potential risks are minimal, but should be discussed with your prescribing Physician.
RadiaDyne is registered with the FDA
US and Foreign patent pending