Mar 29, 2024
Welcome back to UHC’s House Call on WDTV. Dr. Ali Merhe, urologist at UHC Urology, talks about risk factors of prostate cancer.
1). How is prostate cancer treated?
Different types of treatment are available for prostate cancer. You and your doctor will decide which treatment is right for you. Some common treatments are—
- Expectant management. If your doctor thinks your prostate cancer is unlikely to grow quickly, he or she may recommend that you don’t treat the cancer right away. Instead, you can choose to wait and see if you get symptoms in one of two ways:
- Active surveillance. Closely monitoring the prostate cancer by performing prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests and prostate biopsies regularly, and treating the cancer only if it grows or causes symptoms.
- Watchful waiting. No tests are done. Your doctor treats any symptoms when they develop. This is usually recommended for men who are expected to live for 10 more years or less.
- Surgery. A prostatectomy is an operation where doctors remove the prostate. Radical prostatectomy removes the prostate as well as the seminal vesicles (glands that produce the fluids that will turn into semen).
- Radiation therapy. Using high-energy rays (similar to X-rays) to kill the cancer. There are two types of radiation therapy—
- External radiation therapy. A machine outside the body directs radiation at the cancer cells.
- Internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy). Radioactive seeds or pellets are surgically placed into or near the cancer to destroy the cancer cells.
2). Are there additional ways to treat prostate cancer?
Other therapies used in the treatment of prostate cancer that are still under investigation include—
- Cryotherapy. Placing a special probe inside or near the prostate cancer to freeze and kill the cancer cells. This is a less common treatment.
- Chemotherapy. Using special drugs to shrink or kill the cancer after it has spread to other parts of the body. The drugs can be pills you take or medicines given through your veins, or, sometimes, both.
- Biological therapy. Works with your body’s immune system to help it fight cancer or to control side effects from other cancer treatments. Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments.
- High-intensity focused ultrasound. This therapy directs high-energy sound waves (ultrasound) at the cancer to kill cancer cells. This is a less common treatment.
- Hormone therapy. Blocks cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow. This is also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
3). How should a patient decide which treatment is right for him?
Choosing the treatment that is right for you may be hard. Talk to your cancer doctor about the treatment options available for your type and stage of cancer. Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of each treatment and their side effects. Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments.
Sometimes people get an opinion from more than one cancer doctor. This is called a “second opinion.” Getting a second opinion may help you choose the treatment that is right for you.
This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.
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