Online Information about Cancer
Resources about cancer
Prostate Cancer
Treatment
National Cancer Institute - Prostate Cancer
Treatment
Expert-reviewed information summary about the treatment of
prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Options --
familydoctor.org
Information about prostate cancer treatment options from
the American Academy of
Family Physicians.
Prostate cancer - treatment, symptoms and
causes
BUPA health information factsheet - prostate cancer is an
abnormal growth of
cells in the prostate gland.
Prostate Cancer Treatment, Radiotherapy
Clinics of Georgia
Extensive prostate cancer treatment information including
prostate cancer treatment
options, prostate cancer
diagnosis and cancer research.
NCCN Patient Guidelines
Prostate Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Patients –
... Prostate Cancer
Work-Up (Evaluation); Treatment
for Prostate Cancer with Low to Intermediate
...
Methods of
treatment
Treatment for prostate cancer may involve watchful waiting,
surgery, radiation therapy, or hormonal therapy. Some
patients receive a combination of therapies. In addition,
doctors are studying other methods of treatment to find out
whether they are effective against this disease.
Surgery is a common treatment for early stage prostate
cancer. The doctor may remove all of the prostate or only
part of it. In some cases, the doctor can use a new
technique known as nerve-sparing surgery. This type of
surgery may save the nerves that control erection. However,
men with large tumors or tumors that are very close to the
nerves may not be able to have this surgery.
If the
pathologist finds cancer cells in the lymph nodes, it is
likely that the disease has spread to other parts of the
body. Sometimes, the doctor removes the lymph nodes before
doing a prostatectomy. If the prostate cancer has not
spread to the lymph nodes, the doctor then removes the
prostate. But if cancer has spread to the nodes, the doctor
usually does not remove the prostate, but may suggest other
treatment.
While the above was the standard of care through the 1980s
and early 1990s recent Journal publications indicate that "Radical prostatectomy combined with early adjunctive
hormonal therapy for patients with nodal metastasis is
superior to all other forms of therapy and should be
considered the standard of care. This approach provides
survival rates comparable with patients with clinically
organ-confined prostate cancer." Radical prostatectomy for
the patient with locally advanced prostate cancer.
Radiation therapy(also
called radiotherapy) uses
high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. Like surgery,
radiation therapy is local therapy; it can affect cancer
cells only in the treated area. In early stage prostate
cancer, radiation can be used instead of surgery, or it may
be used after surgery to destroy any cancer cells that may
remain in the area. In advanced stages, it may be given to
relieve pain or other problems.
Cryotherapyis the
insertion of metal rods into the prostate and circulating
liquid nitrogen through these rods. This process lowers the
temperature to about minus 374° F. As the tissue freezes,
the formation and expansion of ice crystals within the
cancerous cells cause them to rupture and die. A catheter
is placed inside the urethra and a warming solution is
circulated to prevent damage to the urethra.
Hormonal therapykeeps
cancer cells from getting the male hormones they need to
grow. It is called systemic therapy because it can affect
cancer cells throughout the body. Systemic therapy is used
to treat cancer that has spread.
Source: Wikipedia