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    • Cancer
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    • Guide
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      • What Causes Prostate Cancer?
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      • Prostate Cancer Symptoms
      • Types of Prostate Cancer
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    • Your Prostate Cancer Care Team
    • Treatment
      • Treatment Overview
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      • Targeted Therapy & Immunotherapy
      • Drugs & Other Treatment Options
      • CAM and Treatment Side Effects
      • Lifestyle Interventions During Treatment
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    • View Full Guide

    Treatment

    No one prostate cancer treatment is right for every man, but you’ve got plenty of options, from watchful waiting to hormone therapy to surgery.

    1. Treatment Overview

      1. Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

        There’s no one prostate cancer treatment that’s right for every man, but there are plenty of options.

      2. Prostate Cancer: When Treatment Can Wait

        Active surveillance, or watchful waiting, is when doctors keep an eye on the cancer so they can take action if it gets worse.

         

      3. Treatment for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer

        Doctors usually recommend three main types of treatment for prostate cancer in its early stages.

      4. Treatments by Stage

        Once your doctor determines the stage of your prostate cancer, they can start mapping out a treatment plan.

      5. Breakthroughs in Finding, Treating Prostate Cancer

        New approaches have been developed that give doctors and patients new options to spot prostate cancer quickly and treat it.

    2. Surgery

      1. Prostate Cancer: Surgery

        If your prostate cancer hasn't spread, surgery could cure your cancer.

      2. Prostate Cancer: Radical Prostatectomy

        Radical prostatectomy can cure prostate cancer in men whose cancer is limited to the prostate gland.

      3. PSA Level After Prostatectomy: What Does Your Number Mean?

        You'll have a PSA test after a prostatectomy. This will show how well the treatment worked and if your cancer has come back.

      4. Penile Rehabilitation After Prostatectomy: What to Know

        Penile rehabilitation is a treatment or therapy that helps men reach or regain an erection after a prostatectomy.

      5. Prostate Cancer: Laparoscopic Prostate Surgery

        Laparoscopy appears to treat prostate cancer as effectively as surgeries done with a large incision.

      6. What Is a HIFU Procedure?

        A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure is a technique that uses ultrasound to treat prostate cancer.

      7. Nerve-Sparing Surgery for Prostate Cancer

        In a nerve-sparing prostate cancer surgery, or nerve-sparing prostatectomy, doctors avoid cutting nerves near your prostate.

      8. Prostate Cancer: What to Do Before Surgery

        If you plan to get surgery for your prostate cancer, there are a few things you can do to get ready ahead of time.

      9. Pre-Surgery Tips to Help Prevent Incontinence

        After a radical prostatectomy, you may leak and have trouble controlling the flow of pee, which is called incontinence.

      10. What Is a Cystoprostatectomy?

        In very rare cases, surgeons might perform a cystoprostatectomy to treat prostate cancer that has moved into the bladder.

    3. Radiation & Chemotherapy

      1. Prostate Cancer: Radiation Therapy

        Radiation therapy uses high levels of radiation to kill prostate cancer cells or keep them from growing and dividing.

      2. Prostate Cancer: Radioactive Seed Implants

        Radioactive seed implants are a form of radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

      3. Prostate Cancer: Chemotherapy

        Chemotherapy is prescribed in cases of recurrent or advanced prostate cancer that has not responded to hormone treatment.

    4. Targeted Therapy & Immunotherapy

      1. Targeted Therapy for Prostate Cancer

        Targeted therapy drugs for prostate cancer precisely attack cancer cells and stop them from growing and spreading.

      2. PARP Inhibitors for Prostate Cancer

        PARP inhibitors are a new kind of prostate cancer treatment called a targeted therapy.

      3. Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer

        Radiation treats prostate cancer by killing cancer cells. Immunotherapy trains the immune system to attack the cancer.

    5. Drugs & Other Treatment Options

      1. Hormone Treatment for Prostate Cancer: What to Expect

        Hormone therapy is a prostate cancer treatment that stops the body from making androgens or letting them reach cancer cells. 

      2. Radiopharmaceuticals Target and Treat Prostate Cancer in a New Way

        Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive drugs that target cancer at the cellular level. 

      3. Photodynamic Therapy for Prostate Cancer

        Photodynamic therapy has a few advantages over current treatments for early-stage prostate cancer.

      4. What Is Whole-Gland Ablation for Prostate Cancer?

        Ablation uses strong cold or heat to burn or freeze prostate cancer. Whole-gland ablation destroys all of the prostate tissue.

      5. Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer Treatment

        Cryotherapy uses extremely cold temperatures to freeze and destroy cancer tissue in the prostate.

      6. Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer

        No treatments can cure advanced prostate cancer. However, there are ways to help control its spread and related symptoms.

      7. PSMA and Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer

        Prostate-specific membrane antigen is a protein in the prostate gland. With prostate cancer, you have more PSMA than normal.

    6. CAM and Treatment Side Effects

      1. Alternative Treatments for Prostate Cancer

        Some complementary or alternative treatments for prostate cancer may be harmful when used with standard cancer treatments.

      2. Can Medical Marijuana or CBD Help With Prostate Cancer?

        Cannabinoids have shown activity against prostate cancer in the lab and in mice. It's not recommended to treat prostate cancer.

      3. Advanced Prostate Cancer Treatment: Side Effects
      4. Prostate Cancer Treatment and Hair Loss

        When you have certain treatments for prostate cancer, there’s a chance you could lose the hair on your head and body.

      5. Prostate Cancer and Erectile Dysfunction

        Though prostate cancer is not a cause of erectile dysfunction, treatments for the disease can cause the problem.

      6. Prostate Cancer: Urinary Incontinence

        Urinary incontinence is common in men who have had surgery or radiation for prostate cancer.

      7. Prostate Cancer and Fertility: What You Should Know

        Treatment for prostate cancer may affect your ability to have children for a period of time or forever.

      8. Prostate Cancer: When to Go to the Emergency Room

        You should know the prostate cancer symptoms to tell your doctor about -- and which symptoms mean it’s time to go to the ER.

    7. Lifestyle Interventions During Treatment

      1. Managing Prostate Cancer

        A prostate cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Taking action early will help you deal with the many effects of your illness.

      2. Prostate Cancer: Dealing with Fatigue

        Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common side effects of cancer and its treatment. 

      3. Prostate Cancer Pain Control Chart

        A pain scale is helpful in rating how much pain you're feeling and to record how well your medicine is working.

      4. Prostate Cancer Pain: A Guide for You and Your Family

        Having cancer does not always mean having pain. There are many different kinds of medicines and methods to relieve the pain.

      5. Prostate Cancer: Eating Right

        Side effects of cancer treatment are often made worse if you're not eating enough or if you're not eating the right foods.

      6. Prostate Cancer: Exercise

        Feeling ill from cancer or cancer treatment can lead to tiredness. Regular, moderate exercise can decrease these feelings.

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