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‘Radiation Therapy Can Be As Effective As Surgery’

28 Mar 2018

‘Radiation therapy can be as effective a treatment for prostate cancer patients as surgery’.

That was the message from Targeting Cancer Clinical Lead A/Prof Sandra Turner on her recent appearance on ABC North Coast’s Breakfast Show to discuss treatment options for prostate cancer patients.

A/Prof Turner was interviewed by Jo Shoebridge after the recent publication of her monograph written for GPs, which aims to highlight the potential effectiveness of radiation therapy as a treatment for men diagnosed with prostate cancer and to help GPs in assisting their patients in the decision making process.

She explained that patients need to be made aware of all available treatment options in order to make the right choice for them.

“Radiation therapy (has become) more and more effective over the last ten years,” A/Prof Turner said. “The clinical trials that have been done show it is pretty much the equivalent to radical prostatectomy, the operation that removes the prostate.

“Our message is not that one (treatment) is better than the other, but that men need to be aware of treatment options so they can way up the treatment options out there and weigh up which is the best one for them.”

“GPs can have an important role in supporting men and helping them access the different types of specialists, including surgeons and radiation oncologists.”

The monograph aims to raise GP awareness of the potential benefits of radiation therapy as a cancer treatment.

A/Prof Turner also discussed how patients in regional and rural Australia might improve knowledge about their options and addressed some misconceptions about radiation therapy.

Entitled ‘Modern Radiation Therapy and Hormone Therapy for Localised Prostate Cancer’ and published via the HealthEd website, the monograph aims mainly to increase GP awareness of radiation therapy as a treatment option and how advances in radiation therapy have significantly reduced side effects and improved the prostate cancer patient experience.

GPs are then empowered to better counsel men with this disease.

A/Prof Turner compiled the monograph with Dr Lucinda Morris, a radiation oncology fellow based at the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre and chair of the Targeting Cancer Working and Advisory Group.

Click on the link below to listen to the full interview (NB: thanks to ABC North Coast for supplying audio):


Click here to view and read the monograph:HE0001 Monograph 20 v4b

For more information on how radiation therapy can help treat prostate cancer, click here.