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What to consider when choosing the prostate cancer treatment
For many prostate cancer (PC) patients making the decision about which treatment option to choose may feel overwhelming. The good thing is that PC is slow growing, so this gives you time to research and carefully consider all of your choices.
However, how do you go about making that choice? There are several medical and personal factors - and each has its pros and cons - to take into account, including:
- The stage of your disease. Is the cancer growing slow or fast? Is it located just in your prostate gland, or has it spread to other parts of your body? Based on the results of exams, investigations, your Gleason grading score (which measures the speed at which your cancer is expected to grow) and the stage your cancer is in (whether or not it has spread), you will have a full frame of the medical status of your disease.
- Your age. Age may be an important factor in deciding whether or not the benefit of a certain treatment is worth its potential risk. Because prostate cancer is usually so slow-growing, if you're in your 70s or older, you may consider taking a watch-and-wait approach to treatment.
- Your overall physical condition. Your general health may help you decide what treatment options you can withstand. If you fight other disease along with cancer, such as heart problems or diabetes, or if you have had prostate surgery in the past, this will also have an impact on your treatment choice.
- Side effects of treatments. Different prostate cancer treatments come with different potential side effects. The list may include impotence (not being able to have an erection) and incontinence (not being able to control urine flow). Think about how you feel about possibly having these side effects and how they might affect your quality of life.
- Treatments effectiveness. Statistics provide data related survival rates for any kind of treatment, so talking with your doctor may help you have a picture which treatments may give you the best results. Again, you will need to put in balance the risks and side effects of each against their benefits in terms of what they mean to you personally.
- Your preferences. For many reasons, you may prefer one type of PC treatment over another. You may want to discuss your preferences with your doctor. Joining a support group for men with PC will help you meet people who have encountered the same thing. Here you can get information about others' treatment experiences that may help your own decision-making process.
Whatever treatment option you finally decide upon, do not forget that you are not alone. Discuss it with your spouse, partner, caregiver and anyone else who may also be affected by your choice.
NOTE: Issues on this site regarding prostate cancer and treatment options, are provided for
information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional.
Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment.
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