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Prostate Cancer Treatments Pros And Cons

Brachytherapy For Prostate Cancer

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This is also known as implantation or interstitial radiation therapy because small radioactive seeds are placed directly in your prostate. Seldom do the seeds cause discomfort. Most doctors use Permanent Brachytherapy, but some opt for Temporary Brachytherapy. If Permanent Brachytherapy is recommended, your doctor will use a needle to insert around 100 seeds in your prostate. Seeds will release low doses of radiation for weeks or months until the radioactive material is completely dissolved. Temporary Brachytherapy delivers high doses of radiation through a catheter. Seeds are removable and kept in for only 5 to 15 minutes. Generally, there are 3 treatments given over the course of 2 days. The catheter is removed after your final treatment.

Often Recommended for:

  • No surgical risks or hospital stays
  • Radiation concentrated in the prostate
  • Little damage to surrounding tissues, nerves, bladder and rectum

Cons:

  • Internal radiation may demand you to stay away from children and pregnant women, limit children and pets sitting on your lap for prolonged time periods, refrain airport travel and require a condom during sex
  • Seeds may require you strain urine
  • Might not work as well in men with large prostate glands, urinary problems or post-TURP surgery
  • May not cure the cancer

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Cryotherapy For Prostate Cancer

During this procedure, your doctor will use a transrectal ultrasound to guide multiple needles directly into your prostate. Very cold gases are sent through the needles to create ice balls that freeze and destroy the prostate. A warming catheter is then inserted in the urethra to protect it. You will use a catheter for around 3 weeks to help drain your bladder while you heal.

Often Recommended for:

  • Bladder issues and loss of control
  • Bleeding or infection in treated area

Pros & Cons of Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer

Pros:

  • Less blood loss and pain
  • Shorter hospital stay and recovery
  • Concentrated treatment on cancer cells

Cons:

  • Relatively new, and long-term outcomes are unknown
  • Higher probability of erectile dysfunction
  • Not recommended for those with larger tumors, normal sexual function or who previously had surgery for rectal or anal cancer

New Treatment Options For Prostate Cancer

New technologies, scientific advancements and clinical trials continue to develop and test additional and alternative forms of classical treatments. Often, the only way to access these newer treatments and procedures is through a clinical trial. Participating in these carefully controlled research trials is another way to get state-of-the-art care that you might not be able to get otherwise. Still, certain factors may cause ineligibility or personal discomfort with a lesser known treatment plan.

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Advances In Hormone Therapy For Prostate Cancer

The bodys production of androgens drives the growth of prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy uses surgery or medication to reduce the production of androgens in the testicles to attempt to slow the growth of the cancer. Hormone therapy may be combined with radiation therapy or other therapies.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists are drugs that block the pituitary gland from making hormones that stimulate the production of testosterone.

Relugolix, the first oral GnRH antagonist, was . Relugolix has been shown to be more effective in sustaining testosterone suppression than its alternative, leuprolide, while having fewer side effects.

When prostate cancer continues to grow despite the use of drugs to lower the production of androgens, its known as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Antiandrogen drugs such as enzalutamide, abiraterone acetate, apalutamide, darolutamide and zytiga may be used to attempt to lower the production of androgens or to keep them from binding to androgen receptors on prostate cancer cells to keep the cells from growing.

Pros And Cons Of Active Surveillance For Prostate Cancer

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The following are the advantages of active surveillance for prostate cancer:

  • You don’t need to undergo surgery or chemotherapy until symptoms manifest.
  • You and your doctor will be updated regularly on the growth of your prostate cancer.
  • Once symptoms manifest, a treatment plan will be developed. There are many different options for prostate cancer treatment.

The following are the disadvantages of active surveillance:

  • Regular appointments may interfere with your life or annoy you.
  • Repeat tests may make you uncomfortable.

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How Do The Treatment Options Compare

A study known as the ProtecT trial is the most important study on treatments for low-risk prostate cancer so far. ProtecT stands for prostate testing for cancer and treatment. This trial compared three treatment options: active surveillance, external radiotherapy and surgery to remove the prostate. A total of 1,643 men between the ages of 50 and 69 took part in the trial. They all agreed to be randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups. About two thirds of them had low-risk prostate cancer. The treatment outcomes were recorded over an average of ten years, and then compared with each other at the end of the trial.

The following was found over a period of ten years:

  • no difference in mortality rate between the active surveillance, radiotherapy and surgical removal groups,
  • a somewhat higher risk of metastases in the active surveillance group,
  • a much higher risk of accidental urine leakage in men who had surgery,
  • a much higher risk of erection problems in men who had radiotherapy or surgery .
  • a somewhat higher risk of accidental stool leakage in men who had radiotherapy.

Based on the results of this trial and other research, we have developed a decision aid that can help men who have low-risk prostate cancer to weigh the pros and cons of the various treatment options for example, together with their friends, family and doctors.

Prostate Cancer Treatments Pros And Cons

Studies have shown that great numbers of people died because of different cancer types like prostate cancer. To help patients who are suffering from this condition, experts continue to search for the best treatment option.

If you are suffering from prostate cancer, you always want to undergo an extensive medication. Like others, you also desire to see if prostate cancer treatments work. However, before making any option, you have to know the pros and cons of prostate cancer. To give you some hints, simply take the following facts as your guide:

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Localized Prostate Cancer: Low

Low-risk prostate cancer often grows very slowly, or doesn’t grow at all. Because of this, a treatment approach known as “active surveillance” can be considered as an alternative to radiotherapy or surgery. In this approach, the tumor is monitored regularly and only treated with radiotherapy or surgery if it grows.

Prostate cancer is described as low-risk if it is only found in the prostate and it is highly likely to grow only very slowly, or not at all . The medical criteria for low-risk prostate cancer are:

  • The cancer is found in only one of the two sides of the prostate.
  • The cancer takes up less than half of the affected prostate lobe.
  • The cancer cells havent mutated much and arent very aggressive.
  • The cancer hasnt spread to any lymph nodes or led to the growth of tumors in other parts of the body.

Even if the can be worrying: Low-risk prostate cancer grows only very slowly, or sometimes doesn’t grow at all. So the chances of recovery are very good. Over a time period of 10 years, only 1 out of 100 men who have low-risk prostate cancer will die of this disease. In other words: 99 out of 100 men will not die of prostate cancer in the 10 years after it is diagnosed.

There are various ways to deal with low-risk prostate cancer. All of the options have their pros and cons. So it’s a good idea to get enough information and discuss the options with your doctors before making a decision.

What Is A Nomogram

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A nomogram is a tool used by doctors to help them and their patients predict the success of a particular treatment or the probability of remaining cancer free after certain treatments.

It uses different features of the cancer like PSA, Gleason grade and stage as well as other prostate biopsy details to make predictions. The predictions are based on the past experiences of many thousands of patients, usually drawn from hospitals based in the USA.

Nomograms can be complicated and are not always reliable. Talk to your doctor if you want to use an online predictive tool to help guide you in your decision making.

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Pros And Cons Of Watchful Waiting For Prostate Cancer

The following are the advantages of watchfully waiting for your prostate cancer to metastasize:

  • You won’t have to undergo treatments and regular tests for prostate cancer.
  • You won’t have to endure the side effects of treatment.
  • Symptoms may never show up. You may never have to be treated.
  • If symptoms do manifest, you and your oncologist can then create a prostate cancer treatment plan.

The following are the disadvantages of watchful waiting:

  • The tumor won’t be actively monitored, so it may grow sooner than expected.
  • You may feel anxiety over the uncertainty of your condition.

Surgery To Remove The Testicles Prostate

In addition, unlike most alpha 1 blockers, Flomax does not cause a massive drop in blood pressure. Flomax works exceptionally well in males with moderately enlarged prostatic hyperplasia in the absence of any health issue. However, in some cases, Flomax use can lead to some untoward effects such as: Low blood pressure. Headaches and dizziness Testicular cyst removal includes administration of anesthesia. This way patients will not feel any pain and will be properly sedated and unaware of the entire procedure. Such surgery requires general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia, during which youll be awake but sedated from the waist down. The surgeon makes a cut in the scrotum, reaches the.

Also Check: What Are The Signs Of Prostate Infection

Other Items To Consider:

Should I choose surgery or radiation for my prostate cancer?

For men deciding between surgery and radiation for prostate cancer treatment, that may help you weigh the pros and cons of each option.

Genomic testing and prostate cancer

Genomic tests can help determine how aggressive your prostate cancer is, and this may influence your treatment decisions. Genomic testing can also help you and your doctor learn more about how your cancer might behave. By looking at the genetic makeup of the cancer, these tests may help predict whether your prostate cancer grows slowly or aggressively, therefore influencing treatment decisions.

Are There Side Effects

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The treatments for prostate cancer also can affect your body in other ways. Side effects can include:

  • Bowel problems
  • Loss of your ability to get a woman pregnant
  • Leaky bladder or loss of bladder control. You might also need to pee a lot more often.

Side effects are another thing to think about when youâre choosing a treatment. If theyâre too tough to handle, you might want to change your approach. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect. They can also help you find ways to manage your side effects.

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Which One Is Right For Me

Both watchful waiting and active surveillance are perfectly fine options, but you can only choose one at a time. The decision is up to you and your doctor. This can lead to a better quality-of-life, and for some, may never result in prostate cancer treatment. Pick whichever option makes you and your family more comfortable.

Resources:

The Gold Standard Of Care

The gold standard of care for prostate cancer begins with the patient and his support person talking with the experts the surgeon , a radiation oncologist and a specialist nurse. In doing so, the man is provided with the relevant information and impartial advice he needs to make an informed decision about his preferred treatment.

Virtually all specialist doctors who treat cancer profess to be part of a multi-disciplinary team, that includes surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists and other experts, and attend meetings where the relevant health professionals discuss patient cases to decide on management. These team meetings are valuable, but they are only one aspect of a high quality service. Meetings do not include the patient, the man with prostate cancer, who is integral to the .

The multi-disciplinary team model has been successful in the treatment of breast cancer. There is nearly always more than one good treatment option available for men with prostate cancer, sometimes several. For men with low risk cancers, many may not require active treatment up front and are appropriately managed by active surveillance or careful monitoring.

Read more:Latest research shows surgery for early stage prostate cancer doesn’t save lives

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Advances In Immunotherapy For Advanced Prostate Cancer

Immunotherapy is a type of precision medicine tool that stimulates the immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells. It isnt widely used in treating prostate cancer right now because studies show that while some patients with advanced prostate cancer have responded positively to treatment, most do not.

Two types of immunotherapy that may be used in some cases, however, are the Sipuleucel-T cancer vaccine and checkpoint inhibitors.

Sipuleucel-T is an FDA-approved vaccine designed to treat advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. To create the vaccine, the patients own immune cells are collected from a blood sample and stimulated in the lab to help them recognize and fight prostate cancer cells. The inoculation is then injected back into the patient. The vaccine has been shown to extend the lives of some men with advanced cancer .

Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block signals between certain cancer cells and proteins on immune cells. A kind of miscommunication sometimes keeps the immune cells from recognizing the cancer cells as dangerous. When that signal is blocked, the immune cells may wake up to the danger and attack the cancer cells. In June 2020, the FDA approved pembrolizumab for prostate cancer with certain genomic biomarkers.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Removing Tonsils

Advantages of Surgery compared to other treatments for localised prostate cancer

Tonsillectomy is a common procedure that several patients around the globe undergo almost every year. Even after equipping themselves with the knowledge about the possible risks that can occur during the procedure, several patients still oscillate between the decision of opting or not opting for tonsil removal surgery.

This blog can guide you into making the appropriate decision of removing the tonsils as it discusses the pros and cons of tonsil removal surgery and gives a brief account of the surgery.

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Watchful Waiting Or Active Surveillance

Your doctor might suggest waiting to see if your tumor will grow or spread before you treat it. Most prostate cancer grows slowly. Some doctors think itâs better not to treat it unless it changes or causes symptoms. In watchful waiting, your doctor will closely track how the disease makes you feel. With active surveillance, youâll also get regular tests to check on the cancer.

Prostate Cancer Caregiver Podcast Series

We are proud to announce a new podcast series geared toward helping give support, hope and guidance to prostate cancer caregivers. The goal of this Prostate Cancer Caregiver Podcast Series is to help others connect with a diverse group of people who have felt the impact of prostate cancer in their lives and empower them on their journey.

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Whos A Good Candidate For This Procedure

Anyone who can have radiation therapy can have proton therapy. Proton therapy can be used as primary treatment for early stage prostate cancer or as part of a total treatment plan for prostate cancer. Its also an effective treatment for people who require pelvic radiation therapy after undergoing previous therapies.

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Staging Of Prostate Cancer

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Doctors will use the results of your prostate examination, biopsy and scans to identify the stage of your prostate cancer .

The stage of the cancer will determine which types of treatments will be necessary.

If prostate cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of survival are generally good.

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The Cons Of Prostate Cancer Treatment

Here are the main issues associated with prostate cancer treatment:

1. Fatigue May Occur after the TreatmentAfter the prostate cancer medication, patients need to monitor their condition. Some patients experience fatigue and other discomforts. If you experience the same condition, it is best to ask help from experts.

2. Requires Enough Cash for the MedicationProstate cancer treatment requires enough money. Therefore, patients need to prepare more cash to continue the surgery. Depending on your preferred doctor, you also have a chance to get a cheap treatment cost.

3. Sexual DifficultiesPatients who undergo prostate cancer treatment are likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. However, this condition may be treated depending on the level of your condition.

Thinking About Taking Part In A Clinical Trial

Clinical trials are carefully controlled research studies that are done to get a closer look at promising new treatments or procedures. Clinical trials are one way to get state-of-the art cancer treatment. In some cases they may be the only way to get access to newer treatments. They are also the best way for doctors to learn better methods to treat cancer. Still, they’re not right for everyone.

If you would like to learn more about clinical trials that might be right for you, start by asking your doctor if your clinic or hospital conducts clinical trials.

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