Jan 13
21
Once you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, time is of the essence. In that vein, I will not waste your time discussing issues that are not focused purely on the treatment options you have at your disposal to manage the illness. There are 6 kinds of standard treatment methods used for prostate cancer patients.
Active monitoring
If the illness is in its infancy, a patient is closely monitored. At his stage, treatment is not given until symptoms change or the test results indicate that a more aggressive treatment is necessary. During active monitoring stage, a patient undergoes various examinations and analysis, including a specific number of biopsies over a set period of time.
Surgery
Pelvic lymphadenectomy is a surgical procedure where the lymph nodes and tissue surrounding the pelvis are extracted and analyzed for suspected growth of cancer cells. If cancer cells are present, other forms of treatment may be considered. In this case, however, the prostate is not removed. Radical prostarectomy is a procedure whereby the entire prostate, including the tissue surrounding it, are surgically extracted. Side-effects of surgical treatment for prostate cancer may include leakage of urine from the bladder and impotence.
Radiation therapy
This form of treatment uses x-rays to destroy cancerous cells and prevent them from spreading to the rest of the organs. The radiation therapy that uses an external machine to kill cancer cells is known as external radiation therapy. Internal radiation therapy utilizes substances which are radioactive in order to treat the illness. They are contained in catheters, needles and wires and are injected near the area where cancer cells are located.
Hormonal therapy
Treating prostate cancer by eliminating hormones or neutralizing their effect is another method that has entered mainstream medicine. For example, testosterone, a main male hormone, may actually promote the growth of cancer cells in the prostate. Therefore, specific methods are used to offset the effect of hormones on cancer cells:
*Luteinizing hormones which are used as agonists to block the production of testosterone.
* Anti-androgens which block the effect of androgens (hormones that support physical characteristics in males).
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a recognized method of prostate cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop and prevent further growth of cancer cells. When the drug enters into the bloodstream, it can either have a local effect on cancer tissue around the prostate gland (known as regional chemotherapy) or it can spread to many other areas in instances where the cancer has metastasized to other organs (known as systemic chemotherapy).
Biologic therapy
Biologic therapy is a form of treatment that uses body’s natural defenses to minimize the effect of prostate cancer. It consists of using compounds that body already produces on its own. It is why it’s often referred to as immunotherapy.
