Cancer of the prostate is among the most common forms of cancer in men, and caused over 30,000 deaths in the United States in 2009, reports the National Cancer Institute. Following diagnosis, some prostate cancer patients receive external beam radiation therapy, a treatment in which the prostate receives a very high dose of radiation, killing the cancer cells. Tissues around the prostate also receive a small dose of radiation, and this radiation exposure can lead to the development of long-term side effects.
Incontinence
Some patients who receive radiation treatment for prostate cancer suffer from incontinence, a diminished ability to control urination. The Prostate Cancer Treatment Guide indicates that although incontinence can be a short-term side effect of radiation treatment, the inability to control urination can sometimes persist for years after cancer treatment. The inability to control urination can develop due to damage to tissues surrounding the urethra, the tube that connects the bladder to the genitals. The muscles around the urethra, that normally constrict the flow of urine, become damaged during radiation, leading to leakage of urine along the urethra. Prostate cancer patients who develop severe or very long-lasting incontinence can undergo a number of therapies to enable control over urination.
Impotence
Another possible long-term effect of radiation for prostate cancer is impotence, a loss of the ability to achieve or maintain an erection. CancerHelp UK indicates that impotence occurs in around 70 percent of prostate cancer patients after external beam radiation, with erectile dysfunction lasting for years after treatment. Erectile dysfunction can occur as a result of nerve damage during radiation. During sexual arousal, nerve impulses help trigger an erection, and sustain the erection until orgasm. Damage to the nerves interferes with this nerve signaling, causing impotence. These symptoms may become permanent after treatment, or may eventually heal over long periods of time.
Sterility
Another common long-term side effect of radiation therapy for prostate cancer is sterility and infertility. During prostate cancer therapy the testes, the gonads that produce sperm, also receive a dose of radiation. The testes are very sensitive to radiation, and the dose sustained during cancer treatment can interfere with the proper production of sperm. As a result, men who have undergone prostate cancer radiation may have sperm with low motility, or may have little or no sperm production. Men looking to have children after cancer therapy can bank their sperm for in vitro fertilization to successfully father children.
