You may hear stories in the news about new medicines (also called drugs) for treating prostate cancer that has spread outside of the prostate gland (advanced prostate cancer). New medicines you may have heard about include cabazitaxel (Jetvana®) and abiraterone (Zytiga®).

Watchful waiting is a way of monitoring prostate cancer that is not causing any symptoms or problems. The aim is to monitor the cancer over the long term because prostate cancer is often slow growing and may not cause you any symptoms or problems in your lifetime.

Active surveillance is a way of monitoring prostate cancer which aims to avoid or delay unnecessary treatment in men with less aggressive cancer.

Many prostate cancers are detected at an early stage. Prostate cancer can be slow growing and, for many men, the disease may never progress or cause any symptoms.

Treatments for prostate cancer can cause side effects which can affect your quality of life. By monitoring the cancer, you can avoid or delay these side effects.

Cryotherapy treats prostate cancer by using freezing and thawing to kill the cancer cells in the prostate gland. It is also sometimes known as cryosurgery and cryoablation.

Cryotherapy is most commonly an option for men whose prostate cancer has come back after treatment with radiotherapy or brachytherapy. It is less often offered as a first treatment for prostate cancer. However, it may be an option for men who are unable to have surgery to treat prostate cancer.

Hormone therapy helps control prostate cancer by stopping the production of testosterone or stopping testosterone reaching the prostate cancer cells. There are different types of hormone therapy available, you may have injections, an operation, tablets or implants. Hormone therapy can cause side effects such as hot flushes, loss of sex drive and tiredness. It is important that you are aware of the side effects before you start treatment.

Permanent seed brachytherapy, also known as low dose rate brachytherapy, involves having tiny radioactive seeds implanted in your prostate gland. Radiation from the seeds destroys cancer cells in the prostate. You may have this treatment on its own or together with external beam radiotherapy and/or hormone therapy. It is just as good at controlling prostate cancer as other treatments.

High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, also known as temporary brachytherapy, involves inserting a source of high-dose radiation into the prostate gland for a few minutes at a time to destroy cancer cells. You may have this treatment on its own or you may have it together with external beam radiotherapy and/or hormone therapy.

Bisphosphonates are drugs that can help men with prostate cancer that has spread to the bones and is no longer responding to hormone therapy. They do not actually treat the cancer but they can help to relieve bone pain. They may also help to prevent and slow down the breakdown of bone.

Men with advanced prostate cancer may have radiotherapy to help relieve symptoms. This is called palliative radiotherapy. Palliative radiotherapy does not aim to get rid of your cancer but it can help to slow down its growth. There are two types of palliative radiotherapy: external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and internal radiotherapy (radioisotopes).

A clinical trial is a type of medical research study that aims to find new and improved ways of preventing, diagnosing, treating and controlling illnesses, such as prostate cancer. Clinical trials involve testing new medicines and procedures on people in a controlled and carefully planned way. Clinical trials are the best way to find out whether a new treatment is better than the current standard treatment.

Radical prostatectomy is an operation to remove the prostate gland and the cancer contained within it. You may be suitable for this treatment if your cancer is thought to be contained within the prostate gland and you are otherwise fit and healthy.

HIFU uses high frequency ultrasound waves to heat and destroy cancer cells in the prostate. It is a relatively new treatment and we do not know very much about how effective it is at treating prostate cancer in the long-term or how it may affect your everyday life. Because of this, HIFU is only available in a few centres in the UK, usually as part of a clinical trial.

Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to kill cancer cells. It is used to help control symptoms and not to cure prostate cancer. The side effects of chemotherapy are sometimes difficult to cope with so you need to be reasonably fit before you begin treatment.  You may have chemotherapy alongside other treatments such as palliative radiotherapy, bisphosphonates, pain-relieving drugs, and steroids.

External beam radiotherapy uses high energy X-ray beams to treat prostate cancer. The X-ray beams are directed at the prostate gland from outside the body. They damage the cancer cells and stop them growing.

External beam radiotherapy is sometimes given alongside brachytherapy or high dose rate brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy). Radiotherapy can also be used after surgery if your PSA level starts to rise or if not all the cancer was removed with surgery.

If your prostate cancer is no longer responding to your original hormone therapy you can have further treatments. You may be able to have other types of hormone therapy, chemotherapy or a new treatment as part of a clinical trial.