Your treatment for prostate cancer will depend on your individual circumstances. Some men with prostate cancer won’t need treatment however active surveillance or “watchful waiting” will mean keeping an eye on the cancer and starting treatment only if the cancer shows signs of getting worse or causing symptoms.

When treatment is necessary, the aim is to cure or control the disease so it doesn’t shorten life expectancy. Sometimes, if the cancer has already spread, the aim is not to cure it, but to prolong life and delay symptoms.

When deciding what treatment is best for you, your doctors will consider, the type and size of the cancer, what grade it is, your general health and whether or not the cancer has spread to other parts of your body

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has made recommendations about treatments offered to men with the three main stages of prostate cancer:

• localised prostate cancer (cancer that is just in the prostate gland)
• locally advanced prostate cancer (cancer that has spread beyond the prostate capsule, but is still connected to the prostate gland)
• relapsed (cancer that has returned after treatment) and metastatic prostate cancer (cancer that has spread outside the prostate gland, with no remaining link to the original cancer in the prostate gland)

To understand more visit https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/treating.html

A widely used method of staging is a number staging system. The stages are:

• Stage 1 – the cancer is very small and completely within the prostate gland
• Stage 2 – the cancer is within the prostate gland, but is larger
• Stage 3 – the cancer has spread from the prostate and may have grown into the tubes that carry semen
• Stage 4 – the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes or another part of the body, including the bladder, rectum or bones; about 20-30% of cases are diagnosed at this stage

If prostate cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of survival are generally good. About 90% of men diagnosed at stages 1 or 2 will live at least five more years and 65-90% will live for at least 10 more years.

If you are diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer, you have a 70-80% of chance of living for at least five more years.

However, if you are diagnosed when your prostate cancer has reached stage 4, there is only a 30% chance you will live for at least five more years.

If you are interested in discussing some treatment options, speak to the leaders in oncology and make sure they are top prostate cancer Monroe LA specialists.