Help Getting Through Cancer Treatment
People with cancer need support and information, no matter what stage of illness they may be in. Knowing all of your options and finding the resources you need will help you make informed decisions about your care.
Whether you are thinking about treatment, getting treatment, or not being treated at all, you can still get supportive care to help with pain or other symptoms. Communicating with your cancer care team is important so you understand your diagnosis, what treatment is recommended, and ways to maintain or improve your quality of life.
Different types of programs and support services may be helpful, and can be an important part of your care. These might include nursing or social work services, financial aid, nutritional advice, rehab, or spiritual help.
The American Cancer Society also has programs and services including rides to treatment, lodging, and more to help you get through treatment. Call our National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-227-2345 and speak with one of our trained specialists.
Treatment By Stage Of Prostate Cancer
Different treatments may be recommended for each stage of prostate cancer. Your doctor will work with you to develop a specific treatment plan based on the cancers stage and other factors. Detailed descriptions of each type of treatment are provided earlier on this same page. Clinical trials may also be a treatment option for each stage.
Early-stage prostate cancer
Early-stage prostate cancer usually grows very slowly and may take years to cause any symptoms or other health problems, if it ever does at all. As a result, active surveillance or watchful waiting may be recommended. Radiation therapy or surgery may also be suggested, as well as treatment in clinical trials. For those with a higher Gleason score, the cancer may be faster growing, so radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy are often recommended. Your doctor will consider your age and general health before recommending a treatment plan.
ASCO, the American Urological Association, American Society of Radiation Oncology, and the Society of Urologic Oncology recommend that patients with high-risk early-stage prostate cancer that has not spread to other areas of the body should receive radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy with hormonal therapy as standard treatment options.
Locally advanced prostate cancer
Watchful waiting may be considered for older adults who are not expected to live for a long time and whose cancer is not causing symptoms or for those who have another, more serious illness.
Best Treatment For Prostate Cancer In Early Stages
The best treatment of prostate cancer in the early stage is Immuno-knife Homeopathy treatment from Welling Clinics.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be used, but often lead to side effects without providing any additional benefit. If you are diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, your doctor may need to remove your entire prostate gland or part of it . These treatments provide a better prognosis than chemotherapy because they allow doctors to remove all traces of the tumour and greatly reduce the chances of recurrence.***
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Screening And Early Detection
Screening is performed to detect cancer before it causes symptoms. Catching prostate cancer early can result in a more favorable outlook. Healthcare providers may be able to treat the cancer before it spreads to other places in the body.
Some methods used to screen for prostate cancer include:
- Prostate-specific antigen test: This test measures the level of PSA, a substance made by the prostate, in the blood. Men with prostate cancer may have higher PSA levels than those without. Healthcare providers may recommend a biopsy if a mans PSA is elevated or abnormal.
- Digital rectal examination : During a DRE, healthcare providers insert a lubricated, gloved finger into a mans rectum to feel the prostate to detect any abnormalities.
Recommendations about prostate cancer screening include:
- Men between the ages of 55 and 69 should make an individual decision about being screened with a PSA test.
- Before the screening, men should talk to their healthcare providers about the benefits and risks.
- Men 70 years or older should not be screened for prostate cancer on a routine basis.
Cancer That Clearly Has Spread
If the cancer has spread outside the prostate, it will most likely go to nearby lymph nodes first, and then to bones. Much less often the cancer will spread to the liver or other organs.
When prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body , hormone therapy is probably the most effective treatment. But it isnt likely to cure the cancer, and at some point it might stop working. Usually the first treatment is a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist, LHRH antagonist, or orchiectomy, sometimes along with an anti-androgen drug or abiraterone. Another option might be to get chemotherapy along with the hormone therapy. Other treatments aimed at bone metastases might be used as well.
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Prostate Cancer Laser Treatment Truly Transformative
Health and science reporter, BBC News website
Surgeons have described a new treatment for early stage prostate cancer as âtruly transformativeâ.
The approach, tested across Europe, uses lasers and a drug made from deep sea bacteria to eliminate tumours, but without causing severe side effects.
Trials on 413 men â published in The Lancet Oncology â showed nearly half of them had no remaining trace of cancer.
Lifelong impotence and incontinence are often the price of treating prostate cancer with surgery or radiotherapy.
Up to nine-in-10 patients develop erectile problems and up to a fifth struggle to control their bladders.
That is why many men with an early stage tumour choose to âwait and seeâ and have treatment only when it starts growing aggressively.
âThis changes everything,â said Prof Mark Emberton, who tested the technique at University College London.
Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer
If the cancer has reached an advanced stage, its no longer possible to cure it. But it may be possible to slow its progression, prolong your life and relieve symptoms.
Treatment options include:
- hormone treatment
If the cancer has spread to your bones, medicines called bisphosphonates may be used. Bisphosphonates help reduce bone pain and bone loss.
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What Are Some Emerging Therapies For Prostate Cancer
Because prostate cancers can act so differently, they need different types of treatment. New research is focusing on precision medicine. The goal is to have tailored treatment for each person from the very beginning. Since there are so many different types of prostate cancer, precision medicine needs to cover a lot of bases. Its important to remember that not all emerging therapies are right for everyone. And the FDA hasnt approved some of these treatments yet. If you have advanced prostate cancer, talk to your team about whether you should try these emerging therapies:
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PARP inhibitors: These medications stop prostate cancers from growing. They can help people with metastatic prostate cancer who have mutations in their BRCA1, BRCA2, and DDR genes.
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Prostate membrane-specific antigen radionuclide therapy: PSMA radionuclide therapy delivers radiation directly to prostate cancer cells. A recent study showed that people with metastatic prostate cancer who received this therapy lived longer.
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Focal therapies: Focal therapies use heat, cold, or electricity to kill cancer cells in the prostate gland and limit damage surrounding tissues. Therapies include focal irreversible electroporation, high-intensity focused ultrasound, cryotherapy, and focal laser ablation. These therapies are still investigational .
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The Robotic approach uses robotic technology to mimic the surgeons movements. This surgery requires multiple tiny incisions. It also offers more precision, as it lets your doctor see the prostate in 3-D and magnifies everything 10 times.
Lung and Bronchus Prostate Breast Colon and Rectum Pancreas Top 5 Fatal Cancers in Vermont per 100,000 Population Note: All rates are age-adjusted.
Cancer Research UK.
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An Increase In Available Drug Options
While LuPSMA isnt yet on the market, the sheer number of new medications already available for advanced prostate cancer has been a major research boon in recent years. The proliferation of medications within the advanced prostate cancer space has significantly increased the options available to the treating provider, Dr. Haywood says. Since the time I started urology training, several medications targeting the androgen hormone axis have been approved, resulting in significant expansion of the options available to men with advanced prostate cancer. More on those next.
Duke Cancer Center Offers New Treatment For Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Terence Wong, MD, PhD, and Stacy Wood, a Duke Health nuclear medicine technologist, provides treatment to a patient.
Men with advanced metastatic prostate cancer that has not responded to other treatments may now benefit from a new radiopharmaceutical treatment called PLUVICTOTM . Duke is one of the first cancer centers in the Southeastern region to offer PLUVICTOTM following its FDA approval in March 2022. Studies show it can extend the lives of people with this aggressive form of prostate cancer, even in the late stages, said Terence Wong MD, PhD, a nuclear radiologist at Duke Health.
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Laser Photodynamic Therapy Transforms Prostate Cancer Treatment
20 Dec 2016
Combination of near-infrared light and aquatic photosensitizer clears early-stage disease in half of men treated in major European trial.
A large clinical trial across 47 European hospitals has shown laser photodynamic therapy to be an effective treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, with no side effects.
Surgeons have just on more than 400 men in the journal Lancet Oncology. They found that, of the 206 patients to receive PDT, 101 had a negative biopsy result when tested two years after the treatment, while in 58 the disease had progressed.
At the same time, of the 207 men in the active surveillance group who did not receive PDT only 28 showed a negative biopsy at the two-year follow-up, while 120 tested positive for disease progression.
Destructive interactionSpeaking to the BBCs Today radio program the papers lead author Mark Pemberton, a professor at University College London, said: Interaction between the laser and photosensitizer destroys the cancer cells, and also importantly the blood vessels that supply the tumor.
Pemberton also highlighted how those treated with PDT were much less likely to require radical treatment after the two-year follow-up, and said that the lack of side effects was a key finding.
Weizmann licensed the drug to Steba via the Yeda Research and Development Company, the institutes technology transfer wing. Steba now manufactures a soluble version of Tookad.
How Lupsma Is Changing The Prostate Cancer Space
At the recent 2021 Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat, Michael S. Hofman, MBBS , FRACP, FAANMS, FICIS, presented the latest research on LuPSMA for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.1 He gives an overview on current LuPSMA clinical trials and what these trials hope to accomplish in the prostate cancer space. Hofman is a nuclear medicine physician and director of the Prostate Cancer Theranostics and Imaging Center of Excellence , Melbourne, Australia.
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Greatest Prostate Most Cancers Therapy By Stage
1 in 8 men in the USA will obtain a analysis of prostate most cancers of their lifetime. Many therapies have been developed for prostate most cancers, however the most effective therapy for youll rely upon the stage of your most cancers, how aggressive its, and different components akin to your age.
Prostate most cancers could be very treatable, and it has virtually a 97% 5-year relative survival rate . However earlier than beginning therapy, its essential to debate your choices with a health care provider or healthcare skilled.
Some therapies are extra aggressive than others, however most may have negative effects. Lets study extra about your therapy choices and how one can finest weigh the professionals and cons of every.
Many therapies have been developed for prostate most cancers, and every comes with advantages and dangers. Theres not often just one appropriate possibility.
Elements that may affect which therapies a health care provider would possibly suggest embrace:
- how rapidly your most cancers is predicted to develop
- whether or not you will have different well being issues akin to diabetes or heart disease
- in case youve had earlier surgical procedure for an enlarged prostate
- the assets obtainable in your geographic area
- the desire of you and your family members
- the attainable negative effects of and points from therapy
Stage 1 prostate most cancers is the least superior stage. This implies your most cancers is small and hasnt superior previous your prostate.
What Are Some New Diagnostic Methods For Prostate Cancer
Diagnosing prostate cancer isnt easy. Thats because the major tools the prostate-specific antigen test and prostate biopsy arent perfect. PSA levels can be high for reasons other than cancer, and they can be low even when someone has cancer. This makes it hard to know when someone needs a prostate biopsy. Some people end up getting prostate biopsies they dont need, while others can get biopsies too late. Even when done perfectly, the biopsy can miss the cancer cells and delay a diagnosis.
Once someone has a diagnosis of prostate cancer, theyll get a risk class. This risk class tries to predict how the cancer will behave over time. Teams usually pick treatments based on these risk classes. But the tools that help to assign a risk class arent perfect either.
Scientists are working to improve methods for diagnosis to overcome these limitations. The FDA hasnt approved some of these methods yet, and your insurance may not cover them. But even so, they might be right for you:
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What Is The Most Accurate Test For Prostate Cancer
The most accurate test for prostate cancer is a PSA test. The simplest and most common way to detect the disease, this blood test measures levels of Prostate Specific Antigen in your blood. A high level can be an indication of prostate cancer or other diseases that affect the male reproductive system like prostatitis, urinary tract infection, enlarged Prostate gland or non-cancerous conditions such as benign hyperplasia or inflammation.
Its important not to mistake high levels with normal ones because they are very different and should have separate treatment plans set up by doctors accordingly:
Normal range 0 13 nanograms/milliliter
High Level 14 ng/mL
Abnormally Low Range under four ng/ml may indicate prostate cancer or other health conditions.
Noninvasive diagnostic tests are often recommended in cases with atypical findings on DRE exam and elevated PSAs before biopsy if the physician suspects any kind of cancer.
Good Prostate Cancer Care
Your MDT will be able to recommend what they feel are the best treatment options, but ultimately the decision is yours.
You should be able to talk with a named specialist nurse about treatment options and possible side effects to help you make a decision.
You should also be told about any clinical trials you may be eligible for.
If you have side effects from treatment, you should be referred to specialist services to help stop or ease these side effects.
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What Are The Mortality Rates For Prostate Cancer
Most men who have prostate cancer dont die from it. Still, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men in the United States, behind lung cancer. About one in every 41 men will die of prostate cancer.
The five-year relative survival rate for all stages of prostate cancer is 98%. This means that, on average, men with prostate cancer are about 98% as likely as men who dont have prostate cancer to be alive at least five years after diagnosis. Of course, survival rates are general predictions and depend on the stage of cancer, the treatments the patient receives, and other factors.
A New Treatment For Advanced Prostate Cancer Improves Survival In Phase 3 Clinical Trial
- By Charlie Schmidt, Editor, Harvard Medical School Annual Report on Prostate Diseases
Radiation therapy is getting more precise, enabled by technologies that make it easier to kill tumors while sparing their surrounding tissues. Some newer therapies are even given intravenously instead of by machines, and they deliver radiation particles directly to the cancer cell itself. One of these new therapies a sort of smart bomb targeted at malignant cells is now generating promising data for men with the most aggressive prostate cancer.
In early June, investigators reported results from a phase 3 clinical trial showing that among men who received the experimental treatment, there was nearly a 40% reduction in deaths over the course of the study, compared to men who did not.
The treatment is called lutetium-177-PSMA-617, or LuPSMA, and it has two components: a compound that targets a cancer cell protein called prostate-specific membrane antigen, or PSMA, and a radioactive particle that destroys the cells. Healthy prostate cells don’t contain PSMA, or do at very low levels. And some men with prostate cancer have more of the protein than others. Doctors can detect the protein using a specialized imaging scan.
Results after 21 months showed that cancer progression was delayed for longer among the LuPSMA-treated men: 8.7 months on average versus 3.4 months among the controls. The treatment was also associated with better overall survival: 15.3 months versus 11.3 months.
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Active Surveillance For Prostate Cancer
Active surveillance is a plan to monitor low and some intermediate-risk, localized prostate cancer. If, among other criteria, your cancer has not spread beyond the prostate, is not causing symptoms and does not show signs that it may be aggressive, active surveillance may be an appropriate option for you.
Why would you consider active surveillance over immediate, more aggressive treatment like surgery or radiation therapy? It comes down to carefully weighing risks versus quality of life.
We know that, in most men, prostate cancer grows slowly. In some cases, it may take three to 10 years to reach the point where it needs to be treated. In the meantime, if you can safely postpone treatment, you can avoid the sometimes-immediate and long-term side effects that may have serious consequences on your quality of life.
Having access to some of the advances in prostate cancer treatment discussed earlier in this article may allow you to choose active surveillance with more confidence. For example, if genomic testing predicts that your cancer is not aggressive, and/or a prostate-specific PET scan finds no evidence of cancer cells outside of the prostate, active surveillance may be the right choice for you.
Active surveillance does not mean that we ignore the cancer. If you and your care team decide its an appropriate option for you, your urologist will monitor your disease with regular follow-ups, which may include:
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