10 Prostate Cancer Treatment Options to Consider

There are lots of options for prostate cancer treatment, but there is no single treatment that is perfect for everyone. Doctors consider several things before devising a treatment plan for a specific patient. This includes factors like the patient’s overall health condition, age, the rate of growth of the tumour, stage of cancer, size of the tumour, and how far the disease has spread. Here are the most common options for prostate cancer treatment in India.

Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

• Vaccine for Prostate Cancer
  One can take a vaccine for prostate cancer. It will help fight against the disease and makes the body capable of killing cancer cells.
• Active Surveillance or Watchful Waiting
  There might be a growing tumour in the prostate gland of a patient, but it may not have grown so much that it requires surgery or treatment. In such cases, a doctor recommends waiting and observing the growing tumour. Most of these tumours don’t affect the person and cause any prostate cancer symptoms. The tumour needs to be closely tracked and regular tests need to be performed for active surveillance.

• Chemotherapy
  If the cancer cells have grown out of the prostate gland, then the doctor will recommend chemotherapy as one of the treatment options. Drugs or medications will be given through the mouth or intravenously to kill, attack or shrink the size of the tumour. Chemotherapy is given when hormone therapy does not work on a patient.

• Immunotherapy
  One of the best treatment options for prostate cancer in advanced stages is immunotherapy. In this treatment method, the capability of the immune system is enhanced so that it can attack and kill the tumour cells.

• Bis-Phosphonate Therapy
  Prostate cancer can reach the bone and may cause pain in your body. Bisphosphonate therapy is used to prevent bone fractures and reduce pain using drugs.

• Hormone Therapy
  The prostate cancer cells can grow in the presence of testosterone hormone, which is naturally produced in the male body. Hormone therapy aims at depriving the patient’s body of this hormone to stop the growth of the tumour. This treatment is also called androgen deprivation therapy.

• Cryosurgery or Cryotherapy
  Many doctors recommend cryosurgery or cryotherapy for prostate gland cancer, which is in the first stage. The cancer cells are frozen in this treatment by releasing cold gases into the prostate gland using a small needle. This destroys the cancel cells.

• Proton Beam Radiation
  If cancer has not spread much in the gland, proton beam radiation can be used to destroy the diseased cells. In this type of radiation therapy, highly focused beams are used to target small areas where the tumour cells are located.

• High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound
  A device is used to produce sound waves of high intensity. These waves are capable of producing high heat energy. In this treatment, the heat energy produced by the high-intensity sound waves is used to kill the tumour cells.

• Radiation Therapy
  Radiation therapy is used to produce a high beam of energy that contains heat energy. The high-energy beams are similar to X-rays. The heat produced by the high beam destroys the tumour cells in the prostate gland.

Sometimes, doctors or surgeons use this to remove any cell tumours, which were not removed during the surgery. It gets rid of the cancer cells present inside the prostate gland but has not spread much.

There are two kinds of radiation therapy:

• Internal Radiation (Brachytherapy): A small radioactive seed is placed near or inside using this radiation method.
• External Radiation: The rays are directed towards the tumour in the body using an external machine.

Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatment

Every treatment has its own side effects, but your doctor will recommend a specific treatment only if the benefits outweigh the side effects. Some of the common side effects of prostate cancer treatment in India are:

• No Control Over Bladder
• High Frequency of Urination
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Decreased Sex Drive
• Bowel Movement Problems

If a patient is not able to handle the side effects, then the doctor will change the treatment plan. You should discuss with your doctor about what to expect after the treatment.

So, these are the prostate cancer treatment options. Your doctor will decide the right treatment after thoroughly examining your condition and in consultation with a multidisciplinary team of medical experts.