The emerging treatments for prostate cancer are seemingly confusing to most people. It is essential for you to understand that each of these treatment options comes with its share of benefits and risks that you should beware of. There is no single treatment that can be perfect for each and every man suffering from prostate cancer. You will need to know the treatments available at your disposal in terms of severity/stage of cancer and its grade, lifestyle considerations and age among other factors.

Do you need Online CPR certification when treating prostate cancer? Of course, you do, especially if the cancer is at an advanced stage because then, it could trigger many other situations. 

Prostate cancer depending on stages/ advancement

When prostate cancer is containing within a man’s prostate gland entirely, this is referred to as early stage prostate cancer. In this stage, the cancer hasn’t spread to either the local tissues or other distant body parts like bone. Doctors refer to this as low risk prostate cancer and it is curable. 50 percent of men aged above 50 years are diagnosed to be suffering from prostate cancer. However, due to the slow growth of prostate cancer, other diseases or conditions usually lead to the death of such men even before prostate cancer actually start to cause a significant problem. This means that the death of most men isn’t caused by prostate cancer, but they die with it. Something else you should remember is that prostate cancer therapies might have very significant complications and side effects. What this implies is that even the so called definitive therapy might not be the best choice of treatment.

Alternative treatment options for prostate cancer

Early stage prostate cancer can be treated in different ways. Radiation and surgery are the two main treatment options which can cure the cancer when used alone. For men with high risk or intermediate risk prostate cancer, a combination of these two treatments is required to provide a cure or control the disease. The third option available can’t really be said to be a treatment as such, but it is more of a patient management technique that involves testing and close observation.

The next treatment option that a cancer patient can consider is known as hormone therapy. This treatment is actually for reserved for the older men who are too debilitated to receive any active treatment. In addition, this treatment option is also highly recommended for men whose prostate cancer is severely advanced. When treating prostate cancer, chemotherapy has a very limited role. This treatment is reserved for those men with recurrent or advanced prostate cancer, which isn’t responding to hormone therapy. There are various factors that will determine your choice for expectant management, surgery or radiation treatment. The major factors include life expectancy and your age, presence or absence of other health problems like heart disease, your personal preference and doctor’s opinion as well as your concern for the common side effects of these therapies.