Source: Fowler FJ Jr., Barry MJ, Lu-Yao G, et al. Outcomes of external-beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer: a study of Medicare beneficiaries in three Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results areas. Journal of Clinical Oncology 1996;14(8):2258-65.
Is surgery or radiation therapy the better treatment for prostate cancer? It depends on the outcomes that matter most to the patients themselves. In a clinical trial of the two therapies, specific outcomes differed considerably, but patients in both groups had positive feelings about their treatments, probably due to their participation in the treatment decision.