Assessing the Psychological Impact of Daily Bowel Preparation on Prostate Patients Who Receive Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Evidence has shown that the prostate moves depending on filling of the rectum and, to a lesser extent, the bladder; many radiation therapy departments have adopted standardized bladder filling/rectal emptying protocols for radiotherapy treatment. Daily treatments may be delayed until appropriate volumes are attained; the resultant psychological impact of these delays on patients is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine levels of anxiety, depression, distress, and bother related to bowel preparation for prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy treatment.

Smoking Cessation Basics: An Essential Component of Radiation Therapy Clinical Practice.

Tobacco addiction is among the top preventable health risks to combat cancer. Smoking is responsible for almost 30% of cancer deaths in Canada; it increases the risk of developing cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, larynx, cervix, pancreas, esophagus, colon, rectum, kidney, and bladder and in acute myeloid leukemia. Nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke are also at higher risk of developing lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.