Prostate Cancer Treatment

Prostate cancer treatment may involve surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, cryosurgery, hormone surgery and active surveillance. The choice of treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the man's age, his general health and the possible side effects. Side effects of some of these treatment methods may include erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.

Prostatectomy or surgical removal of the prostate is a common treatment method for early stage prostate cancer or for cancer that has failed to respond to radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat all stages of prostate cancer and sometimes it is used when surgery has failed. Radiation therapy is a lung cancer treatment method that uses ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells in the prostate. Ionizing radiation such as Gamma and X-rays damage the DNA in the cancer cells and while normal cells are able to repair after wards, cancer cells cannot repair.

Cryosurgery is another treatment method where the prostate gland is exposed to freezing temperatures and as the water within the prostate cells freezes, the cells die. Cryosurgery is less problematic with the urinary control but leads to impotency in about 90% of the cases.

Hormonal therapy involves the use of medication or surgery to block prostate cancer cells from getting DHT, a hormone that is produced in the prostate and is required in the growth and spread of most prostate cancer cells. When DHT is blocked, it causes prostate cancer to stop growing and sometimes it causes the disease to shrink. Since cancers that respond to hormonal therapy normally become resistant after one or two years, hormonal therapy is hardly an effective prostate cancer treatment method.


Mercy Maranga Reports on Health and Fitness issues. Visit Her Site here for more information on cancer and its treatment Cancer