Men warned on prostate cancer treatment
A warning to men considering a pricey new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy: Research suggests it might have more side effects than traditional radiation does.
Medicare records show that men treated with proton beams had one-third more bowel problems later, such as bleeding and blockages, than those given conventional radiation.
This is not a definitive study, but it is one of the largest to compare the treatments. Proton therapy is rapidly growing in use -- Medicare covers it -- though no rigorous studies have tested whether it is as safe or effective as usual care.
It costs around $48,000, at least twice as much as other prostate radiation treatments.
The new results suggest it may cause more complications, said Dr. Ronald Chen, a radiation specialist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and lead author of the study. -- AP
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
