Ideal Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
As with many diseases, there are many prostate cancer treatment options. The types of cancer treatments are divided into two categories. These categories are standard treatments and clinical trail treatments. The standard treatments are options that are regularly used while the clinical trails are options that are currently being studied. The following is a list of the standard prostate cancer treatment options and information about each.
The first standard prostate treatment is called Watchful Waiting. In men with other medical conditions or men with early stages of the cancer doctors will keep a close eye on the situation to only move forward when absolutely necessary.
The second standard treatment is Prostate Surgery . This option is available to men with the cancer who are in good health. There are three types of surgery which are Pelvic Lymphadenectomy, Radical Prostatectomy and Transurethral Resection of the Prostate.
The third standard prostate cancer treatment is Radiation Therapy. In Radiation Therapy radioactive waves are concentrated on the prostate to kill the cancerous cells or limit their growth. The two types of Radiation Therapy are External Radiation Therapy and Internal Radiation Therapy. Men who are treated with this type of Radiation Therapy have a higher risk of developing bladder cancer.
The forth type of standard treatment is Hormone Therapy. By using this treatment, male sex hormones are blocked or removed from the system to stop the growth of the prostate cancer. This type of treatment can have many side effects including impotence, hot flashes, weakened bones and nausea.
In addition factors such as your age, general health and what you want to achieve from the treatment will also be taken into consideration. The elderly may suffer from surgery much more than they would suffer with prostate cancer and so they may choose to do nothing except slow down the growth and spread of the disease. Younger men however may want to get rid of the cancer completely and so opt for surgery and then probably radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancerous cells.