Prostate Cancer Treatments Options
If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your doctor would have advised on the various prostate cancer treatments. You would need to work with your doctor to formulate a treatment plan as different prostate cancer treatments have different benefits and side effects. Before advising on the prostate cancer treatments, the doctor would consider your age, possible life expectancy, medical history, and seriousness of the cancer as well as personal feelings about potential risks and side effects of each treatment option. Since each prostate cancer treatments will have different effect because of these factors, it is best to seek a reliable second opinion about the most appropriate treatment for your condition. This is important because there are many prostate treatments available, including some that there in the clinical trial stage. Weighing the pros and cons of each option can give you a better idea of the risks and side effects. Information on Prostate Cancer Treatments The "watchful waiting" method is commonly used for older men who have higher risks of dying from other health problems other than prostate cancer. It is also used when the cancer is slow growing. The doctor will monitor the growth of the tumors by checking the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Once the tumor grows, hormone therapy is usually performed. The type of prostate cancer treatments depends on the stage of the cancer. For early stage prostate cancer, namely cancer that is still contained inside the prostate, radical prostatectomy and radiation therapies are commonly used. If surgery and radiation treatments are not effective, the tumors are treated using hormone therapy instead. Radical prostatectomy is a surgical removal of prostate cancer, namely the entire gland and the lymph nodes nearby. This method offers the best treatment of prostate cancer, as long as the entire tumor is taken out. The potential risks of this surgical procedure are impotence and incontinence. Radiation therapy is one option for prostate cancer treatments. There are two methods. External beam method is performed using a machine, while the radioactive pellet method is done by injecting high doses of radiation pellets right on the prostate's tumor. Unfortunately, most radiation therapy patients will be impotent within two years. Lastly, hormone therapy seeks to reduce the level of androgens, thereby causing the tumor to shrink over time. Each of these prostate cancer treatments has pro and con. Seek your doctor's advice to formulate a treatment plan that will be most effective for your specific condition.
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