Coleman says he chose RP because he was unsure of the track record of other treatments. Besides being a serious operation that requires weeks of recuperation, RP can have lingering side effects, including impotence and incontinence. Until the early 1990s, virtually all RP patients were saddled with these effects. The CaverMap, a device cleared by FDA in 1998, aids surgeons in locating nerve bundles to help avoid severing nerves related to continence and erections when removing the prostate. Radiation is a treatment option that may be less traumatic than RP and appears to have similar results when used in early-stage patients.
Radiation also produces side effects, including impotence, in about half of patients.
It can be applied through an external beam that directs the dose to the prostate from outside the body.