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Prostate Cancer Treatments

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it's essential to understand the various treatment options available. It's also important to know that there is lots of reason for hope with many available prostate cancer treatments. 

The best prostate cancer treatment for you depends on several factors, including the stage and grade of your cancer, your age, overall health, and personal preferences. Here, we'll explore the most common prostate cancer treatment options, their benefits, and potential side effects.

 

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There are many prostate cancer treatment choices to consider. Your treatment options will depend on the stage and grade of your tumor—if the cancer has spread and how aggressive the cancer may be. Other factors in treatment decisions include your age, overall health, family history of cancer, and the results of genetic testing and/or biomarker testing. Learning about all available treatment options for your prostate cancer will help you make the right decision for you.

Here are some ways you can make an informed choice about your treatment options:

For more information about the treatment options based on the stage (location) of your cancer:

Types of prostate cancer treatment

There are many prostate cancer treatment choices to consider. There is no blanket treatment plan. Learn more about the available treatment options (active surveillance, local therapies, systemic therapies and clinical trials), advances in treatment, and possible side effects of treatment so you can be better positioned to make an informed choice and the right decision for you.

A doctor and a male patient in a gown talking

Active surveillance

For men with low-risk, slow-growing prostate cancer, active surveillance may be the most appropriate approach. This prostate cancer management strategy involves closely monitoring the disease through regular PSA tests, digital rectal exams (DRE), and biopsies. The goal of active surveillance is to avoid or delay unnecessary treatments and their potential side effects while ensuring that the cancer is carefully tracked. If there are signs of cancer progression, your healthcare team may recommend transitioning to a more active treatment plan.

Local Therapies

Local therapy is a treatment that is directed to a specific organ or limited area of the body, such as the prostate. Local therapies for prostate cancer include:

Systemic therapies

Systemic therapies refers to any type of treatment that targets or travels through the entire body. Systemic therapies for prostate cancer include:

Clinical trials

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Learn about side effects

All treatment options have side effects that can impact your quality of life. Two of the most common are urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Before deciding on a treatment, talk with your doctor and learn about possible side effects and how to manage them.

A portrait of Euvon Jones, a prostate cancer patient, and his wife, Janet, who serves as his caregiver.

Treatment tool for advanced prostate cancer

Need help deciding on the right treatment? Use our Interactive Decision Support Tool, developed in partnership with Clinical Care Options! This tool provides you with expert guidance on treatment options for advanced prostate cancer, based on characteristics you enter. Share the results with your care team and make the right choices together. 

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