Types of Prostate Cancer Treatments

There are numerous methods to treat prostate cancer.

Men who are able to detect prostate cancer at an early age usually have a good chance of surviving the disease.

Below are the most common options available to men who have developed prostate cancer.

Surgical Castration Castration by surgery is a simple and effective means of treating metastatic prostate cancer. However, there is one obvious disadvantage to the procedure. Losing the testicles can be particularly traumatic to a man's sense of manhood.

LHRH-Analogues LHRH-analogues combined with oestrogen can stop the production of testosterone. LHRH-analogues are administered hypodermically every monthly or every three months for the entire duration of the patient's lifetime. This treatment is effective in treating prostate cancer but is quite expensive.

Anti-Androgens Anti-androgens do not remove testosterone but opposes its effects by jamming the androgen receptors. Because the level of testosterone is maintained in the blood, the occurrence of erectile difficulties is much less compared with alternative treatments like orchidectomy.

Anti-androgens are insufficient in treating metastatic disease when administered alone. They must be paired with other treatments.

On the other hand, anti-androgens that are non-steroidal provide better results compared to castration alone.

The results of treatments for patients with advanced forms of prostate cancer that have spread away from the prostate are not that encouraging. Radical treatment on patients with no signs of metastases is sometimes positive.

The most typical treatments for diseases that are locally advanced without metastases include radiotherapy and hormonal treatment.

Testosterone affects prostate cancer greatly. Approximately 80 percent of prostate cancer patients will positively react to hormone treatments which deprive the tumor growth of testosterone. The deprivation of testosterone has the effect of shrinking metastases and reduces the symptoms of the disease.

Depriving the tumor of testosterone won't cure it. This will only prolong the life of the prostate cancer patient. This treatment is usually good enough to last two years. Unfortunately cancers are known to eventually become impervious to hormonal treatment and, when it does, death usually follows.

There is disagreement on when exactly hormonal treatment should be implemented. Some studies show that there are positive effects to starting hormone treatment earlier. However, hormonal treatment does have some undesirable side effects!

These side effects include erectile problems, enlargement of the breast and osteoporosis. It seems that earlier administration of hormonal treatment in prostate cancer brings about a new range of problems on the patient.

Ultimately, the best way to defeat prostate cancer is to prevent it from coming into being or delaying its presence.