Treatment Early Cancer
The treatment of early tumours in the prostate vary usually according to age, the younger you are the more likely you will be encouraged to have radical therapy
Once you are over 70 it is more likely that watch and wait system will be employed, it is less likely at this age that the cancer will develop enough to take your life.
What treatment you receive is also dependant to some degree on the type of tumour whether it is aggressive or not and how far has it spread.
The above is open to discussion with the doctors as some treatment could have a profound effect on your life
This is widely available. Some specialists offer the updated version of external Beam radiotherapy which is called 3D conformal Radiotherapy The tratment can last 5 - 7 weeks you usually have the treatment for 5 days a week. You may also receive additional hormone therapy to improve the way your body responds to radiotherapy
As with most treatments there are possible side effects . These include pain on passing urine, incontinance, bowel problems, and impotence.
This is internal radiotherapy. radio active seeds areimplanted into the prostate an anaesthetic is used and usually means an overnight stay in hospital.
If you decide that LDR brachytherapy is the right for you, then you should ask your GP to refer you to a hospital which performs this procedure. Brachytherapy can only be carried out in a hospital which has a Radiotherapy Department because the hospital must be able to handle radioactive material and it requires special equipment. There are approximately 25-30 radiotherapy centres that carry out the procedure throughout the UK
This a surgical procedure where the prostate is removed. Surgery is not usually offered to men over 70 they are more likely to be offered radiotherapy.
There is a very real risk with this operation that you will suffer from incontinence and impotence. You should ask the Surgeon for details on the effects on you after surgery. This may be offered as keyhole surgery.
This is where doctors just monitor your cancer through PSA tests because your cancer is slow growing and is not causing you any problems. You are probally older that is over 70
With this situation, you avoid the side effects associated with the other treatments. If you are not happy with this senario you can discuss the other options with your Dr