Should I Get Radiation Therapy
The decision to have radiation therapy shouldnt be taken lightly, especially if you have other health conditions. Specifically, if you have connective tissue disease or IBD, radiation therapy can inflame these conditions. Youll want to weigh the risks and the benefits with your doctor in this case. Other factors to consider are your age, cancer stage, and other therapies you may be on. And then there is the treatment itself. Radiation has its limits. In many cases, once you have radiation, you cant have radiation again, Dr. Kahn says. If you have surgery to remove the prostate, then radiation can be your backup plan.
Am I At Risk Of Developing Prostate Cancer
The exact cause of prostate cancer can be difficult to determine. However, several factors may affect your chances of developing prostate cancer, including age, race, and family history.
- Age: Your risk of developing prostate cancer increases as you age. Approximately 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men 65 and older.
- Race: Studies show that Asian American and Latino men have the lowest chances of developing prostate cancer. Meanwhile, African American men are 79% more likely to develop the condition compared to other races and ethnicities.
- Family history: Your genes may play a role in whether or not you are at risk of developing prostate cancer. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, especially a direct relative such as a father or brother, your risk is higher.
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Before Your Prostate Mri
Your doctor and his team should be able to reassure you that MRI is radiation-free, make you comfortable with going through the scan, and explain what is meant by significant prostate cancer and why MRI excels at identifying it.
- What do I need to do to prepare?
- How long will the scan last?
- What if Im claustrophobic?
- Is there any radiation or side effects from MRI?
- Do you use an endorectal coil?
- Will I need an IV injection of a contrast agent?
- Can the MRI tell me if I have prostate cancer?
- Whats the difference between insignificant and significant prostate cancer?
- Why is MRI better at finding significant prostate cancer?
- What else can it tell me about my prostate gland?
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Should I Consider Surgery
Candidates for surgery to treat prostate cancer have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Overall good health
- No spread of cancer to bone
- Tumor confined to the prostate gland
- Under the age of 70
- Expected to live another 10 years or more
Most surgeries to treat prostate cancer are radical prostatectomies, removing the entire prostate gland. Using a robotic surgery system offers a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery. Robotic surgery requires only a few tiny incisions and is designed to offers surgeons better vision, control and precision. Patients often recover sooner after robotic surgery.
Some advantages of prostate cancer surgery include:
- Patients with localized cancer may need no further treatment.
- Simultaneous biopsy allows for more accurate staging.
- Patients may have a lower risk of urinary urgency and frequency than with radiation treatments.
Some disadvantages of surgery for prostate cancer include:
- Prostate cancer surgery requires general anesthesia.
- Surgery likely will require an overnight stay at the hospital.
- A catheter may be required for required for one or two weeks.
- Side effects may include changes in sexual function.
Questions About Prostate Cancer Treatment
Treatment for prostate cancer depends on many factors, including the type and location of the disease. Here are the answers to some common questions about prostate cancer treatment:
Should I consider surgery?
A radical prostatectomy is a surgical procedure in which the prostate is removed, along with any nearby tissue that contains prostate cancer cells. This is a common treatment for localized prostate cancer. The da Vinci® Surgical System allows the surgeon to offer this procedure using a minimally invasive approach.
There are two options, open or laparoscopic surgery:
- In an open radical prostatectomy, a surgeon makes a single long incision to remove the prostate.
- In a laparoscopic prostatectomy, which may be performed using robotic assistance, the surgeon uses a mechanical device to remove the prostate via several small incisions. This may sometimes result in a quicker recovery time.
Is radiation therapy an option for me?
At Cancer Treatment Centers of America® , our radiation oncologists use a variety of therapies and tools to deliver maximum radiation doses, with less damage to healthy tissues and organs. Focusing the radiation directly on the prostate may lower the risk of side effects. Our range of radiation therapy options includes external beam radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, high-dose rate brachytherapy and, increasingly less common, low-dose rate brachytherapy.
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Questions To Ask Your Doctor When You Have Finished Treatment
When you have finished your cancer treatment, you will talk with your doctor about next steps and follow-up care. You may want to ask your doctor some of the following questions:
- How long will it take for me to get better and feel more like myself?
- What kind of care should I expect after my treatment?
- What long-term health issues can I expect as a result of my cancer and its treatment?
- What is the chance that my cancer will return?
- What symptoms should I tell you about?
- Who do I call if I develop these symptoms?
- What can I do to be as healthy as possible?
- Which doctor should I see for my follow-up care? How often?
- What tests do I need after treatment is over? How often will I have the tests?
- What records do I need to keep about my treatment?
- Is there a counselor I can talk to or an online or in-person support group you can suggest?
Related Resources
A Radiation Oncologist Answers Treatment Questions About Prostate Cancer
Did you know that prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in Oklahoma? A prostate cancer diagnosis can be devastating to men and their families.
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. To help bring prostate cancer to the forefront as a serious health issue for Oklahomans, we collected questions about prostate cancer treatments and asked Gary Larson, M.D. to answer them. Dr. Larson has been practicing radiation oncology at INTEGRIS Health since 1990.
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My Prostate Cancer Hasnt Spread What Are My Options Cont
Other options are radiation therapy and surgery, which have similar cure rates. Your age, your lifestyle, and your other responsibilities are factors that influence whether you and your doctor feel this is the right treatment option for you. For perspective, when Weill Cornell researchers looked at the treatment records of low-risk prostate cancer patients, they found that 19% of those who opted for treatment chose surgery, and 58% chose radiation therapy. Only 15% decided to not have treatment.
Prostate Cancer Screening: Questions For The Doctor
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the United States. Its more common in older men than younger men.
Depending on your age and other factors, your doctor may recommend getting screened for prostate cancer.
If youre age 55 to 69:
- The decision to get screened is a personal choice that you can make after talking with your doctor
- You might decide that youre okay with the risks of getting screened, or you might decide the risks aren’t worth it
- Together, you and your doctor can decide what’s right for you
If youre age 70 or older:
- Prostate screening isn’t recommended because the risks outweigh the benefits for most men
- This is true even if youre at a higher risk for prostate cancer
- If you have questions about prostate cancer, talk to your doctor
Many men have questions about prostate cancer screening. The information below can help you start a conversation with your doctor or nurse about the risks and benefits of screening.
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Why Isnt Prostate Screening Recommended For All Men
All screening tests have both risks and benefits. Here are some things to consider when deciding whether to get screened:
- Many prostate cancers grow so slowly that men wonât have symptoms or die from the cancer
- Treatment for prostate cancer can cause problems like erectile dysfunction or loss of bladder control
- Prostate screening sometimes says you have cancer when you really dont, and follow-up tests can cause problems like infections
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Questions To Ask Your Specialist
A prostate cancer diagnosis can leave you anxious and confused, likely with more questions than answers. Being prepared with questions and thoughts can help guide conversations with your specialist or doctor, help you make informed decisions about what to do next, and choose the best pathway for you.
Weve listed some of the most commonly asked questions below, which you will find in more detail in the Questions To Ask Your Specialist booklet which you can download and print. Just click on the image. If you would like to talk things through with our Information Service Specialist please call 0800 660 800 or email
Here are our key questions to ask your specialist:
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How Do You Determine My Treatment Options
Prostate cancer can present itself in a lot of different ways, says Michael Kahn, M.D., medical oncologist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, IL. Treatment recommendations are based on different factors and can vary widely, he says. pathology reports, your PSA level, and various screening tests that will be done before treatment starts. And therapies vary widely. In some situations, radiation should be considered the primary procedure, he adds. In others, it may be our recommendation that the man have surgery right off the bat.
When It Comes To Prostate Cancer Prevention How Important Are Routine Or Annual Screenings
Orio: Many men with early-stage prostate cancer never experience symptoms and without screening, would never know they have the disease. Because of this screening protocols are critically important to early detection as they allow men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer many years before it becomes problematic. This is especially true in the era of PSA screening.
Fefer: Prostate cancer is a very prevalent disease that is not preventable and due to its paucity of symptoms has been usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Since the introduction of PSA testing as part of the routine physical exam there has been a shift to diagnose prostate cancer at an earlier stage which translates into a better outcome through earlier interventions.
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What Are My Treatment Options
Prostate cancer is a slow-growing disease thats typically curable when discovered in the early stages, and treatable when its more advanced. Treating your prostate cancer will be unique to you and your overall health, as well as the stage of your cancer prognosis. Here are five treatment options to consider as you and your doctor begin choosing one that is best for you.
- Active surveillance: Because prostate cancer often grows very slowly, active surveillance involves observing the cancer without taking immediate action. If your condition worsens, your urologist will move forward with other treatment options.
- Radiation therapy: During this treatment, high levels of radiation are targeted at your prostate gland to burn and kill the cancerous cells. External radiation uses a machine outside the body to produce radiation, while internal radiation places radioactive implants directly into the tumor.
- Surgery: A surgical procedure treats your cancer by removing the prostate gland altogether. During surgery, your doctor will also check the surrounding lymph nodes close to your prostate to ensure the disease hasnt spread.
- Hormone therapy: This type of therapy works by decreasing the amount of testosterone that your body produces, which causes the cancer cells to die or grow more slowly.
- Chemotherapy: This treatment works by using chemicals to kill or halt the growth of cancer cells. During chemotherapy, drugs are either injected directly into the veins or taken orally.
Five Questions To Ask Your Urologist About Prostate Cancer Treatment
All cancer diagnoses are unsettling and all patients will have questions they need answers to. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer are no different. Even though prostate cancer has a 98 percent survival rate, men should take the diagnosis seriously. Asking questions is important and expected by all doctors who treat cancer. By becoming well-educated on understanding this disease, the better decisions they will for the best outcome.
One of the most important questions men can ask is how their prostate cancer will be treated. Today, there are many options for treating prostate cancer than in the past. Improvements have been made reducing side effects along with treatment outcomes enhancing a mans chance for surviving this disease. Whichever treatment option is ultimately decided on, will be determined by the stage of the cancer, the type, and location of the disease.
Here are five questions regarding treatment options all men with prostate cancer should inquire about. All men with prostate cancer are unique and not all treatment options are right for every man. As men gather their information, they, along with their doctors recommendations, can decide upon the best treatment option for them:
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Why Does It Matter
Prostate cancer cells usually produce more PSA than benign cells, causing PSA levels in blood to rise. PSA levels can also indicate other conditions like inflammation, infection, or a benign prostate condition such as prostatitis or enlarged prostate. Therefore, determining what a high PSA score means can be complicated.
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Ive Been Diagnosed Now What
If youve already been diagnosed with prostate cancer, its time for a different conversation with your physician. You should ask as many questions as possible about your diagnosis. Some of the questions you might discuss with your physician include:
- What does my PSA level mean?
- What does my Gleason score mean?
- What is the stage of my cancer?
- Has my cancer spread and if so, how far?
- What additional tests should I/do I need to take?
Getting a second opinion before deciding on a course of treatment is advised by most health care professionals. In fact, some health plans even require a second opinion, according to the NCCN.
Dont be afraid to ask your doctor to refer you to a colleague for a second opinion. A second doctor should receive your test results, a DVD copy of imaging tests, and copies of the pathology report for the most accurate diagnosis.
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Newly Diagnosed Cancer Patients: Questions To Ask Your Health Care Team
Patients and their families often come into The Learning Center, where I work as a librarian, to seek information. After interacting with people for many years â and from reviewing the large amount of information we have access to here âIâve come to understand what information newly diagnosed patients and their families need.
Some patients are anxious if they donât have enough information. Other people get stressed or feel overwhelmed by too much information.
No matter which type of cancer patient you are, asking your health care team the right questions about your disease and cancer treatment can play an important part in managing your care.
I recommend the following basic questions for newly diagnosed cancer patients. Answers to these questions may allow you to feel less overwhelmed and better able to manage your cancer journey.
Just be sure to think about what youâd like to know right now, and tell your doctor if you would like a little information or a lot.
Cancer diagnosis
- What type of cancer do I have? What is my exact diagnosis?
- Where is the cancer located? Has it spread?·
- What is my prognosis?
Will I Have An Mpmri Scan Before A Biopsy
Research showing the benefits of doing an mpMRI scan before a biopsy was published in January 2017. mpMRI scans before biopsy are now available in most UK hospitals. If youre having tests for prostate cancer, ask your doctor about having an mpMRI scan. If your hospital doesnt do mpMRI scans before biopsy, your doctor may be able to refer you to one that does.
If none of the hospitals in your local area do mpMRI scans before biopsy, and your doctor recommends having a prostate biopsy, this can still help to find prostate cancer. Read more about having a prostate biopsy.
To be reviewed: January 2021
Your biopsy results will show how aggressive the cancer is in other words, how likely it is to spread outside the prostate. You might hear this called your Gleason grade, Gleason score, or grade group.
The higher your Gleason score or grade group, the more aggressive the cancer and the more likely it is to grow and spread out of the prostate.
To be updated May 2021
Your doctor will use your scan results to work out the stage of your cancer in other words, how far it has spread. This is usually recorded using the TNM system.
- The T stage shows how far the cancer has spread in and around the prostate.
- The N stage shows whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
- The M stage shows whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Your TNM stage is used to work out if your cancer is localised, locally advanced or advanced.
To be updated May 2021
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