Is Prostate Cancer Treatment Necessary?
September 7, 2010
The different types of prostate cancer treatment have a variety of side effects and risks including urinary incontinence and difficulty achieving an erection, so it is little wonder that any men delay prostate cancer treatment as long as possible.
We’ve all heard about men that have lived with prostate cancer for years so how do we know whether prostate cancer treatment is really necessary, or whether we can just let the cancer progress at its own pace?
Prostate Cancer Staging
When deciding on the best prostate cancer treatment, doctors will assess the cancer to see what stage it has reached. Check out our post on prostate cancer staging to understand the different classifications.
Age and general health will also be taken into account. An elderly man with deteriorating health may be advised not to treat prostate cancer in its early stages as treatment is unlikely to extend his life expectancy. A younger and otherwise healthy man with prostate cancer at the same stage may be advised to have some form of prostate cancer treatment as the disease may well reduce his life expectancy.
Watchful Waiting
For men in the early stages of prostate cancer, the best option is often simply to monitor the progression of the cancer during regular checkups to determine the stage at which it requires treatment. Of course the danger is that it might be an aggressive form of cancer that progresses rapidly between checkups.
In 2009 a study by the Transatlantic Prostate Group identified a protein in prostate tissue than appears to be a biomarker, or indicator of aggressive prostate cancer.
Their research showed that men whose prostate tissue tested positive for the biomarker Hsp27 were likely to have an aggressive form of prostate cancer with a poor clinical outcome if they weren’t treated quickly.
For men whose prostate tissue did not contain the same biomarker, watchful waiting was considered a more viable option. By having regular checkups, tests and examinations, and by eating a carefully balanced diet, these men could conservatively manage their condition, sometimes making prostate cancer treatment unnecessary, and certainly delaying it by some years.
Read more about the various types of prostate cancer treatment here.
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