Cancer is a disease caused by abnormal cell growth. Sometimes cancerous cells form in tissues making up the prostate, which is a male reproductive gland located in the lower abdominal area. Statistics show that 20 percent of adult males in the United States will develop this disease but it is usually not life threatening, especially with early diagnosis and treatment. Men diagnosed with this condition need to find out more about effective prostate cancer treatment options.
Physicians will select one of several treatments based on multiple factors, including the patient's age and the stage of the disease. Whether the patient has other problems with his health or whether the condition has returned after earlier diagnosis will also affect the decision making process. Patients should also weigh any expected side effects against the prognosis.
If a screening test reveals this condition in older men who are not experiencing symptoms, the physician will monitor the patient closely without treatment until the condition changes. Waiting for symptoms to show before treating is known as watchful waiting. Active surveillance is monitoring a patient with regular testing. Test results alert the patient and his physician if the disease starts to get worse or spread.
Treatments can involve anything from oral medication to major surgery, depending on the disease's stage and the extent of the growth. Testosterone and other male hormones can promote growth, so hormone therapy can be an effective treatment for some men. Prescription medications are available to inhibit the action or production of certain hormones. Removal of the testicles eliminates the body's main source of testosterone.
Partial or complete surgical removal of the diseased gland may be an option if the disease has not had time to spread to other organs. Depending on the progress of the disease, surgeons will remove gland tissue, the seminal vesicles, lymph nodes, or any combination to remove as many diseased cells as possible.
Radiation may be used to kill the cancerous cells or retard their growth. Radiation may be delivered to the gland from an external machine. Some radiation machines use a 3-D image of the tumor to conform the radiation beams into a shape that matches the tumor. Internal radiation therapy is a technique physicians use to implant radioactive seeds directly into the affected tissue through a needle. If the disease has spread to the bones, the physician injects the patient with radium-223, a radioactive substance that seeks out cancer cells in bone and kills them.
Chemotherapy is a treatment method that inhibits growth of diseased cells. Patients receive injections of various chemicals directly into the organ, the cerebrospinal fluid, the veins, or the muscles. In some cases, the patient takes the drugs orally.
Other methods are being studied in clinical trials. Cryotherapy utilizes freezing temperatures to destroy diseased cells. Another treatment showing some promise is high-intensity focused ultrasound delivered via an endorectal probe. Proton beam radiation therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that bombards tumors with a proton stream to destroy them. Patients and their physicians will decide what best fits the individual's physical condition and lifestyle.
Physicians will select one of several treatments based on multiple factors, including the patient's age and the stage of the disease. Whether the patient has other problems with his health or whether the condition has returned after earlier diagnosis will also affect the decision making process. Patients should also weigh any expected side effects against the prognosis.
If a screening test reveals this condition in older men who are not experiencing symptoms, the physician will monitor the patient closely without treatment until the condition changes. Waiting for symptoms to show before treating is known as watchful waiting. Active surveillance is monitoring a patient with regular testing. Test results alert the patient and his physician if the disease starts to get worse or spread.
Treatments can involve anything from oral medication to major surgery, depending on the disease's stage and the extent of the growth. Testosterone and other male hormones can promote growth, so hormone therapy can be an effective treatment for some men. Prescription medications are available to inhibit the action or production of certain hormones. Removal of the testicles eliminates the body's main source of testosterone.
Partial or complete surgical removal of the diseased gland may be an option if the disease has not had time to spread to other organs. Depending on the progress of the disease, surgeons will remove gland tissue, the seminal vesicles, lymph nodes, or any combination to remove as many diseased cells as possible.
Radiation may be used to kill the cancerous cells or retard their growth. Radiation may be delivered to the gland from an external machine. Some radiation machines use a 3-D image of the tumor to conform the radiation beams into a shape that matches the tumor. Internal radiation therapy is a technique physicians use to implant radioactive seeds directly into the affected tissue through a needle. If the disease has spread to the bones, the physician injects the patient with radium-223, a radioactive substance that seeks out cancer cells in bone and kills them.
Chemotherapy is a treatment method that inhibits growth of diseased cells. Patients receive injections of various chemicals directly into the organ, the cerebrospinal fluid, the veins, or the muscles. In some cases, the patient takes the drugs orally.
Other methods are being studied in clinical trials. Cryotherapy utilizes freezing temperatures to destroy diseased cells. Another treatment showing some promise is high-intensity focused ultrasound delivered via an endorectal probe. Proton beam radiation therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that bombards tumors with a proton stream to destroy them. Patients and their physicians will decide what best fits the individual's physical condition and lifestyle.
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