A prostate cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Use these questions to guide conversations with your doctor and healthcare team so you can be empowered with the right information.
Your healthcare team
If you or a loved one are diagnosed with prostate cancer, you will want to find the right doctors and specialists who will guide you through treatment and side effect management. To receive the best care possible, consider a multidisciplinary medical team. A multidisciplinary team is a group of healthcare professionals from different specialties that work together to suggest a treatment and survivorship plan for you based on your diagnosis, personal health, and preferences to ensure you have the best health outcome and highest quality of life.
This team often includes prostate cancer specialists such as a urologist, radiation oncologist, and medical oncologist. They can each tell you the pros and cons of your treatment options including surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and more advanced options.
Keep in mind that you have a choice in who manages your care. This is about finding the right treatment team you can work with to make the right decisions for you. Make sure to find a team you are comfortable with and trust.
Specialists to consider for your prostate cancer
It is likely that you will work with several medical specialists for treatment. Often the doctor who makes the diagnosis of prostate cancer is the urologist. It is important to work with your doctors as you put together your team for treatment and support. Specialists involved in the treatment and management of prostate cancer are noted below.
A urologist is a doctor specializing in diseases of the male reproductive organs and of the urinary tract. Some urologists have oncology training. Many are also involved in certain aspects of other forms of therapy including radiation therapy, hormone therapy, treatment of advanced disease, clinical trials, and active surveillance. All urologists are trained in surgery, and many perform prostate cancer surgery.
A radiation oncologist is a highly trained physician specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer using the various types of radiation approved to treat the disease.
A medical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in the non-surgical treatment of cancer with medicines such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, and other drugs. While many prostate cancer patients will work closely with a urologist, it is important to include a medical oncologist in the early phases of treatment planning.
A primary care physician (PCP) is an internist or family medicine doctor who treats common illnesses and oversees general care.
Oncology social workers are trained to work with cancer patients and their families. It is important to understand your emotional well-being and get the support you need mentally, as well as physically. An oncology social worker provides individual counseling, access to support groups, and resource referrals for prostate cancer patients and their caregivers.
Palliative care providers specialize in relieving the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal of palliative care is to improve patient quality of life, and it can be provided alongside curative treatment.
A physical therapist can help deal with the physical changes caused by cancer treatment. Before or after surgery or radiation therapy, working with a physical therapist to strengthen the pelvic floor can help to manage or prevent side effects such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Physical therapists can also address common side effects such as pain, weakness, and fatigue.
A nutritionist provides information and guidance about good nutrition. This can help a patient combat cancer-related or treatment-related weight loss or gain by recommending foods that provide adequate calories, vitamins, and protein. In addition, a nutritionist provides helpful tips and recipes customized to fit your specific dietary needs.
A navigator’s primary focus is to assist patients, caregivers, and families in decreasing barriers to care by utilizing resources. They provide support, information, and guidance through all stages of treatment and beyond. As advocates for patients and families, they enhance the quality of care you receive.
If a patient navigator is not made available to you, ZERO can help with our ZERO360 patient support program. Visit ZERO360 for more information.
A genetic counselor is a healthcare professional who collects your personal and family health history and uses this information to help determine the likelihood of having a genetic condition or mutation. The genetic counselor can help you decide whether or not genetic testing might be right for you or your family members, and can help explain genetic testing results.
A sexual health professional specializes in helping patients and their partners manage erectile dysfunction, low testosterone, hormone therapy, and incontinence related to prostate cancer treatment. If searching for a professional, ask specifically about their experience with cancer patients and caregivers.
A prostate cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Consider whether or not speaking with a mental health professional such as a therapist, counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist might be helpful to you. Those looking for spiritual guidance may find helpful support from clergy, including hospital chaplains.
Consider a second opinion
Seeking a second opinion following a prostate cancer diagnosis is very common and doing so can make you feel more confident in your treatment decision. It’s OK to get a second opinion at any point during your care. Here are some reasons you might consider getting a second opinion:
To understand all available treatment options and have peace of mind with your treatment decision
To get the opinion of another prostate cancer expert
To confirm a diagnosis or treatment plan
To hear information about your cancer explained in a different way
To share the opinion of more than one healthcare expert with your insurance company
Some people find it hard to tell their doctors that they’d like a second opinion. Your doctor shouldn’t discourage you from getting a second opinion. If you are unsure of how to begin, here are a few ways to start the conversation:
“I’m thinking of getting a second opinion. Can you recommend someone?”
“Before we start treatment, I’d like to get a second opinion. Will you help me with that?”
“If you had my type of cancer, who would you see for a second opinion?”
“I think that I’d like to talk with another doctor to be sure I have all my bases covered.”
Before you start looking for a second opinion, contact your insurance company to find out what your policy covers. In some cases, you may have to get a second opinion from another doctor who is part of your health plan before the plan will pay for your treatment. It’s important to be able to give the new doctor the exact details of your diagnosis and planned treatment.
Questions for your doctor
Prepare for your appointments and use these questions to guide the conversation with your doctor.
The branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms; relating to genes or heredity.
Active Surveillance
May be an appropriate treatment option for patients whose prostate cancer was caught early and is considered low-risk. If a man's prostate cancer is caught early, is not causing problems, and is growing very slowly, a physician may forgo treating the tumor at all. Instead, the doctor may recommend that the patient keep actively monitoring his PSA levels.
Incontinence
Lack of voluntary control over urination or defecation, a common side effect of prostate cancer treatment.
Chemotherapy
Drugs used to kill rapidly dividing cells in the body, which include cancer cells, but also some healthy cells. It is a systematic treatment, which means it circulates through the body and kills cancer cells throughout.
Genetic Testing
The testing of genes and heredity and how certain traits and qualities are passed to offspring from parents as a result of changes in DNA sequence. The results of a genetic test can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition, help determine a person's chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder, and provide information on how the cancer might behave. Genetic testing is useful in many areas of medicine and can change the medical care you or your family member receives.
Immunotherapy
Uses the power of the body's own immune system to treat cancer. Can be used for many types of cancer, either alone or in combination with other treatments.
Navigator
A navigator is an expert in understanding the details of cancer treatment and will support, inform, guide, and answer questions for you through all stages of treatment and beyond. As advocates for patients and their families during prostate cancer treatment and beyond, they enhance the quality of care you receive. They may be called a nurse, patient, or financial navigator.
Hormone Therapy
A treatment that stops the making or action of hormones. In the case of prostate cancer, that hormone is testosterone, which is an androgen. Hormone therapy is also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
A medical oncologist is a physician who specializes in the non-surgical treatment of cancer with medicines such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and other drugs. While many men with prostate cancer will work most closely with a urologist, it is important to include a medical oncologist in the early phases of treatment planning.
Physical Therapist
A physical therapist can help deal with the physical changes caused by cancer treatment. Before or after surgery or radiation therapy, working with a physical therapist to strengthen the pelvic floor can help to manage or prevent side effects such as urinary incontinence.
Radiation Oncologist
A radiation oncologist is a highly trained physician specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer using the various types of radiation approved to treat the disease.
Urologist
A urologist is a physician specializing in diseases of the male reproductive organs and male and female urinary tract. Some urologists have oncology training. All urologists are surgeons as well, and many perform prostate cancer surgery.
Primary Care Physician (PCP)
This is a one's personal physician, most likely an internist or family medicine physician who treats common illnesses and oversees general care.
Palliative Care
Treatment that relieves symptoms, such as pain or fatigue, but is not expected to cure disease. Curative treatment can be used at the same time as palliative treatment, but the main purpose of palliative care is to improve the patient's quality of life. Also called symptom management, supportive care, or survivorship care.
Nutritionist
A nutritionist provides information and guidance about good nutrition. This can help a patient combat cancer- or treatment-related weight loss or gain by recommending foods that provide adequate calories, vitamins, and protein. In addition, a nutritionist provides helpful tips and recipes customized to fit your specific dietary needs.
