e in the reoccurrence of cancer in the body. After the operation, most men will be off their feet for two to three weeks, unless radiation therapy is needed. While off their feet, the man will have to wear a catheter to eliminate the urine (something that the urethra usually regulates). A catheter is a thin tube that runs through the penis and urethra into the bladder. After the urethra heals and the catheter is removed, there is a bubble on the end within the bladder that keeps the catherer in place. The doctor will deflate the swelling and then remove the catheter. Following the removal of the catheter, alternative methods for controlling the flow of urine should be found. A very common option is wearing an adult diaper until dripping is controllable again. For cases of more severe prostate cancer, the post-operation treatment can be harder and longer process. Some methods are implant therapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, and chemotherapy. The progression of the cancer will determine which method will be used to help eliminate any other cancerous cells in the body. For some patients, surgery is not the method that they would prefer to use in the treatment of their cancer. So alternative methods that are very similar to post-operative methods are used. Radiation treatment is used in cases where the tumors are small in number or are immediately outside the prostrate. Radiation treatment damages cancerous cells by either an external beam or implanting radioactive beads or other material in the prostrate. In hormone therapy, the cancer is controlled by limiting the supply of hormones that the cancerous cells would need to reproduce. This therapy is only used in cases where the cancer has spread outside of the prostrate. Chemotherapy uses toxic drugs to slow or reverse the spread of the disease in advanced cases. (Smith,Middleton,1987,p154) Nearly 40,000 American men lose their lives to prostate cancer each year, one death every fi...
