The Best Treatments for Prostate Cancer
Author: Brian Hildebrandt, Last Updated: Sept. 30, 2017
Choosing the best treatment for prostate cancer, can be a difficult and confusing experience. You have many options to choose from. Some more invasive than others.
Should you be extra careful and get your prostate removed through surgery, or more conservative with medication or watchful waiting?
Here are some directions you can take for your future prostate cancer treatment.
Prostate Cancer Therapy Recommendations
1. Active Surveillance (wait and see approach)
2. Prostate surgery (prostatectomy; removal of prostate)
3. Radiation/Brachytherapy
4. Hormone therapy
5. Cryotherapy (freezing tissue with liquid nitrogen)
6. Chemotherapy
Active Surveillance
Depending on your form of prostate cancer and treatment, watchful waiting may be recommended. It is a good indication if your cancer is slow growing and fully contained within the prostate.
Your doctor will most likely request regular check-ups involving; PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) tests, digital prostate exams, and a biopsy from time to time if warranted.
Prostate Cancer Surgery
Involves complete removal of your prostate. It is generally performed when the cancer is entirely contained within the prostate, is growing at a faster rate, and has not spread.
The less conservative your doctor the higher likelihood he will favor surgery over watchful waiting.
Radiation / Brachytherapy
If your cancer has spread or has a high probability of spreading, radiation treatment will more than likely be prescribed.
Typically, a finely aimed beam of radiation will be projected towards the prostate, causing death of the cancer and normal cells within and around the prostate.
Hormone Therapy
Historically doctors have prescribed prostate cancer drugs like anti-testosterone therapy to temporarily reduce growth of the prostate cancer.
A newer and more effective therapy is to prescribe anti-estrogen drugs, since estrogen is the main offender for uncontrolled growth of cancerous tissue. Your doctor will usually combine this treatment as a supplement to others.
Cryotherapy
Your doctor may prescribe this an alternative to surgery, especially if you are older or have other medical complications.
The procedure involves killing your cancerous tissue within the prostate by freezing it with liquid nitrogen.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is your best treatment for prostate cancer if it has spread or is in it’s later stages of growth.
It’s effects are farther reaching than the other therapies due to it’s ability to travel through your blood stream.
Unfortunately it will kill both your cancer and normal cells in the process. It is usually given as either a pill or injection, and generally as a last resort.