Depending on how advanced prostate cancer is, there are different treatment options. If prostate cancer is caught early, it can often be successfully treated, but once it has spread to the surrounding bone, it is often impossible to cure. In that situation, treatments focus on reducing symptoms and prolonging life.
Prostate cancer is a slow-growing cancer, and it can take up to 15 years to spread from the prostate gland to the surrounding bone. Because of this, many men die of other causes without ever knowing they have cancer. There are many different treatment options and if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, you will receive advice from specialists. However, the final decision for your treatment always remains your own.
Option 1 – Watchful waiting: If the cancer is diagnosed very early when it is not causing symptoms, it may be possible to wait to see if symptoms develop. Due to the slow growth of prostate cancer, this is often advised for older men.
Option 2 – Active Waiting: This is similar to Option 1, but recommended for younger men. The cancer will be checked for signs that it has spread beyond the prostate. If so, treatment is needed. If not, there may not be any need for treatment at all.
Option 3 – Treatment: If the cancer needs treatment, there are many more options, including “radical prostatectomy” where the prostate is removed, radiotherapy where cancer cells are killed by radiation, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. They all have their own side effects and you are always given the choice of whether you want to undergo a particular treatment or not.
As I said, there are many different possible treatments for prostate cancer, and hormone treatment is one of them. It is often used in conjunction with another treatment, such as before radiotherapy or after other treatments. This helps increase the success rate of the other treatments. However, in some cases it is used on its own, as it can slow the growth of prostate cancer while reducing symptoms.
How does hormone treatment work?
Prostate cancer uses testosterone (a hormone) to grow, so reducing the amount of testosterone or blocking its effects in the body can stop or slow the cancer. Normally testosterone does not cause problems, but if there are cancer cells in the prostate, they stop growing or shrink when they can no longer access it.
Possible side effects of hormone treatment for prostate cancer: sweating, fatigue, weight gain, loss of sexual desire. This is due to the lack of testosterone blockage, but usually passes once hormone treatment is complete. Another side effect is mood swings – Some men become depressed during hormone therapy and find themselves more emotional than usual. This can put additional stress not only on the man, but also on those around him.
Alternatives
Hormone treatment is often used in combination with other therapies and your specialist can advise you on the best course of action. Other treatments may include “radical prostatectomy,” which removes the prostate gland, and radiotherapy, which attempts to kill the cancer cells using radiation. They each have their own set of possible side effects.
Prostate cancer options and hormone treatment
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