Treatment
Prostate cancer may be localised (only affecting the prostate), or it may be locally advanced or advanced (the cancer has moved outside the prostate).
If your doctors believe the cancer just affects the gland, they will discuss different kinds of treatment with you. These could be
- Active surveillance – where the state of the cancer is closely observed and treatment started only when, or if, necessary
- External Beam Radiotherapy – where radiation is used to kill cancer cells
- Surgery – where the prostate is removed
- Brachytherapy – where radioactive seeds are implanted into the prostate
- High dose rate Brachytherapy – Where temporary sources of radiation are targeted directly at the prostate
There are also rarer forms of treatment, which are less commonly available, but may become more so in future:
- Cryotherapy - freezing the prostate
- High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) (This is an article from an old copy of our newsletter, dated July 2006)
If the cancer is locally advanced or advanced, you may be offered hormone therapy, either on its own or with another treatment.
Other treatments for advanced prostate cancer include:
These, and other, treatments may be offered to you as part of a clinical trial.
Page last updated: July 1st 2008