MRT Roles in
Prostate Cancer
Patients encounter many different types of healthcare professionals on their journeys. It can be difficult to keep track of all the people involved in your care. Medical Radiation Technologists (MRTs) are highly educated professionals involved in the care of millions of Canadians each year through medical imaging and radiation therapy.
If you have prostate cancer, MRTs are a vital partner in your care who provide care at multiple points along your journey, including diagnosis, investigation, treatment and follow up. We want to show you all the different times and ways MRTs care for patients with prostate cancer.
Getting a Diagnosis
Prostate cancer is usually suspected in one of two ways: if the results of a PSA (Prostate specific antigen) blood test is high or if a DRE (digital rectal exam) finds something abnormal. Either way, you can be sent for an MRI scan of your prostate. An MRT specializing in Magnetic Resonance Imaging will perform this MRI scan to look at the size and structure of the prostate.
In some cases, a biopsy may be ordered to gather more information about what is seen on the MRI. During the biopsy, the doctor uses the images from your MRI to know where to get the tissue sample. The results of the biopsy will indicate the presence of prostate cancer.
Obtaining More Information to Guide Your Optimal Care
- Bone Scan: during a bone scan an MRT specializing in Nuclear Medicine, will administer a radioactive pharmaceutical to take images of the bones in your body to see if the cancer has spread.
- SPECT-CT: this typically occurs at the same time as the bone scan and the MRT takes the images from the bone scan and fuses them with a CT scan to create a 3D image.
- PET Scan: an MRT specializing in Nuclear Medicine will use another radioactive pharmaceutical that isolates the prostate cancer cells and will take images to show if they are anywhere else in the body.
Imaging will continue to be an important part of your care through this phase of your journey. Whether you have surgery, use chemotherapy or undergo radiation therapy, medical imaging will be used to visualize the cancer and monitor progress. care.
Getting Your Treatment
- Use a CT or MRI scan in the radiation therapy department to plan the angles and shapes of the radiation beams for your treatment.
- Carefully plan the proper radiation dose for each of your treatments.
- Care for you as they administer and precisely target the radiation through advanced technology
- Manage your brachytherapy procedure by imaging during the procedure and following the template plan to ensure the correct placement of the radioactive seeds.
These specialist MRTs also play a key role in answering your questions on your visits to the radiation oncology department. They will help you manage the side effects of the radiation therapy and can also offer support with things such as childcare, psychosocial referrals, transportation assistance etc.
If your prostate cancer is at an advanced stage, you may receive a newer treatment called theranostics or radioligand therapy (RLT). Here, an MRT specializing in Nuclear Medicine will give you an injection of a radioactive substance that will bind to your prostate cancer cells and cause them to die.
Post Treatment and Recovery
As you go throughout your treatment, it is not uncommon to have ongoing imaging done to see the effects of your treatment on your cancer. This may come in the form of an MRT doing repeat MRI scans on your prostate, or another MRT doing a bone scan or CT study to see if the cancer has spread or is shrinking in other places.
As you can see, Medical Radiation Technologists are caring for you at so many steps along your journey. They are the vital link that delivers you better care because of the information and treatment they provide.
Examples of MRT Care
© 2023 Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT)