The prostate cancer treatment you decide on will depend largely on the stage and grade of your cancer. Your age, lifestyle, and personal preferences will also weigh into your decision.  As you speak with your doctor about your options, make sure you ask questions about the side effects, success rates, and complications of each. Following are the most common prostate cancer treatment options for men with localized cancers.

Active Surveillance

Men with early stage prostate cancer who are considered low risk may have the option of monitoring their condition over time through regular PSA tests, imaging, and biopsies. This is known as “active surveillance.”

Surgery

Removing a prostate cancer tumor, or the entire prostate gland, can be performed by a skilled surgeon who is typically a urologist. Side effects from this prostate cancer treatment method may include incontinence, impotence, and (less commonly) changes in penis length.  A surgical method called nerve-sparing prostatectomy can preserve the nerve bundles near the prostate and minimize incontinence and impotence side effects. However, not all men are candidates for nerve-sparing prostatectomy.

Radiation

Radiation involves using high dose x-rays to kill or shrink cancer cells. Prostate cancer treatment with radiation can be external or internal. External radiation uses a machine to direct x-ray beams at the tumor. Internal radiation involves inserting a radioactive substance into the prostate to treat surrounding tissue. Radiation can also cause side effects of incontinence and impotence. It is usually recommended for prostate cancers that recur following surgery or for advanced stage prostate cancer.

Hormones

Hormone therapy is a prostate cancer treatment that is designed to keep cancers from growing. It works by reducing the amount of male hormones (testosterone) in the body or by blocking the way these hormones work. Side effects may include impotence, loss of sexual desire, hot flashes, and loss of muscle mass, but these can lessen over time. Hormone therapy is often recommended for men undergoing radiation prostate cancer treatment, and in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Ablation

Ablation therapy is a prostate cancer treatment that uses energy to destroy an area of cancerous tissue. Whole gland ablation treats the entire prostate, and focal ablation targets areas of clinically-significant cancer in the prostate. Energy sources that are approved for use in the US for tissue ablation include cryoablation (freezing) and laser ablation.

Focal laser ablation is an exciting new type of prostate cancer treatment that has great potential for destroying cancer cells while avoiding the incontinence, impotence, and other side effects associated with traditional prostate cancer treatment. And unlike surgery and radiation, focal laser ablation is a repeatable procedure that can be performed again should cancer recur.

Dr. Dan Sperling, founder of The Sperling Prostate Center, is an authority in the use of focal laser ablation to destroy prostate tumor tissue. If you are considering this prostate cancer treatment option, use our consultation form to contact our state-of-the-art facility and learn more.