Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer

“You have prostate cancer.” These are four words no man wants to hear. But according to the American Cancer Society an estimated 232,090 men in the U.S. will receive this news in 2005 (Source:www.cancer.org).

Prostate cancer may be frightening, but if your physician finds prostate cancer at an early stage, your chances of survival are excellent. Medical science has made great strides in detecting prostate cancer and treating the disease.

If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you face an important decision. Which treatment is best for you? In the past, common treatment options for prostate cancer may have seemed harsh, unpredictable, or had alarming side effects.

For these and other reasons, including the fact that prostate cancer tends to be slow growing, some men choose a course of action called “watchful waiting.” This means routinely monitoring the progress of the disease without specific treatment, while being alert to the possible spread of the disease. But this carries some risks; for example, the cancer may grow beyond the prostate gland before your next doctor visit.

Fortunately, advances in technology have led to improvements in treatment. Today there are several minimally-invasive treatments available for prostate cancer. In choosing a treatment, you should look for one that combines the best possible outcome with minimal side effects. There are two major minimally-invasive treatments for prostate cancer today.

Brachytherapy
With brachytherapy, small radioactive seeds are implanted into the prostate where they irradiate prostate tissue. Side effects and discomfort are minimal, and the entire procedure usually takes less than an hour. For most patients this is an outpatient procedure and they go home the same day, returning to normal activities a few days later

Cryotherapy
With cryotherapy, thin needles are inserted into the prostate. Extremely cold gases flow through the needles forming ice balls at the tips of the needles, literally freezes the prostate, eradicating the cancer. Cryotherapy reduces the pain, risks, and long recovery times associated with surgery. Most patients are mobile the same day, and many are discharged the same day and return to normal activity within a few days.

(Source: Prostate Cancer Institute)