Prostate cancer treatment
2 March 2010 dans prostate cancer treatment
Prostate cancer treatment is a wide and varied subject with a several different routes that may be taken. The optimal prostate treatment varies depending upon the individual patient.
Four standard options for prostate cancer treatment exist, which are discussed below. There are also a number of treatments in clinical trial, which are research studies to help improve the standard treatments currently available and to hopefully one day discover a cure.
The four current standard prostate treatment options are:
1. Watchful waiting, which involves keeping a close eye on the patient and the symptoms, but does not include administering any medicinal treatment. This action is typically used with cancers found in older men who other medical issues as well as those who are in the early stages of the disease.
2. Prostate surgery is an option for patients who are otherwise in good health. There are a few different types of prostate surgery that may be performed, including:
a. Pelvic lymphadenectomy which removes the lymph nodes in the pelvis
b. Radical prostatectomy is a prostate surgery designed to remove the prostate, seminal vesicles and the surrounding tissue.
c. Transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP is prostate surgery that removes tissue from the prostate and is often used to relieve symptoms that a tumor is causing before other forms of treatment are used.
3. Radiation therapy is a prostate cancer treatment that uses radiation such as high-energy x-ray to kill the cancer cells or at least inhibit their growth.
4. Hormone therapy is the fourth type of standard prostate treatment. This method treats the cancer by removing or blocking the action of hormones that promote cancer cell growth.
Each of these treatment methods has its own set of benefits and risks. Choosing the right one for the situation is dependent upon the individual patient, the size of the tumor, and indeed the treating medical practitioner.