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If you've recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may be worried about your physical and mental ability to undergo an exhausting, extensive treatment regimen. In addition to the fear that cancer treatment might not be enough to send yours into remission, you might also be worried about the potential side effects of the treatment you eventually choose -- from urinary leakage to erectile dysfunction. What are your most effective and least invasive treatment options for prostate cancer? Read on to learn more about some of the choices that can help (or harm) you.

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)

This treatment is one of the newest options available, and provides many of the same tumor-killing properties as chemotherapy and radiation without some of the negative side effects. Through HIFU, an ultrasound probe is placed in your colon (near your prostate) and high-frequency sound waves are blasted at the tumor, shrinking it over time. Because these ultrasound waves are designed to target only the unusual or irregular growth that usually accompanies a cancer tumor, they shouldn't cause any damage to the surrounding tissues that could leave you incontinent or unable to achieve an erection..

External beam radiation therapy

Another cancer treatment standby is radiation. This process targets light rays at the cancer tumors much like ultrasound targets sound waves at the cancer tumors. Depending on the size of your tumor and the aggressiveness of your cancer type, you may need frequent radiation appointments or be able to get by with just a few before entering remission. 

Although radiation may risk more side effects than HIFU, these effects are generally mild and shouldn't pose much (if any) long-term damage. Radiation treatment may cause you to lose your hair, become fatigued more easily, or even become temporarily infertile. When it comes to HIFU versus radiation as an effective mode of prostate cancer treatment, there's no appreciable difference in long-term survival rates between the two, and both remedies are overwhelmingly successful -- however, unless you have a medical reason to avoid HIFU, you'll likely experience fewer side effects with this procedure.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is often an option of last resort when it comes to prostate cancer treatment. Chemo involves the infusion of toxic drugs into your system that can kill cancer cells (but will also usually cause damage to the healthy cells surrounding the cancer tumor). Because the risk of collateral damage to other organs and body systems is a common side effect with chemotherapy, it is best to ensure those seeking chemotherapy know precisely what they've signed on for. Visit http://internationalhifu.com for more information.