A Healthier & Happier Life: Your Options For Treating Prostate Cancer.

April 16, 2018 by Staff
Filed under Health, Weekly Columns

(Akiit.com) Of all the health challenges facing men men now, prostate cancer is growing at an alarming rate. In 2017, it was estimated that 161,360 men in the United States were diagnosed. Inexplicably, the risk of prostate cancer is actually 74% higher in black men than in non-hispanic white men! But, the survival rates are good when the cancer is found early on. If you are reading this, and you are approaching middle age, this is never a positive thing to talk about, but if you are ever diagnosed, it’s good to know what your options are, especially in relation to treating the disease.

Active Surveillance

Also known as watchful waiting, some men may not need treatment. In essence, it’s about monitoring the cancer as closely as possible. This could consist of prostate biopsies, as well as blood tests and rectal exams either every 6 or 12 months. But if you have a fast-growing cancer, this isn’t usually an option.

Chemotherapy

Of course, most of us are aware of chemotherapy, and this is used if the prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate area. If hormone therapy isn’t working at this stage, chemotherapy is considered to be a viable option. There has been research to show that chemotherapy might be helpful when used in conjunction with hormone therapy, but chemotherapy isn’t a typical treatment for early prostate cancer. Now, with more advances in research into chemotherapy, especially with xenograft modelling conducted by companies like Hera, it’s proving to be helpful in understanding what the best options are for living with cancer. Because we know how chemotherapy can debilitates people going through this, it results in so many unpleasant side effects.

Cryosurgery

Cryosurgery, more commonly known as cryotherapy, is where you use very cold temperatures to freeze and kill off these cells. Don’t be confused, it’s not a type of surgery at all. And this can be used to treat prostate cancer at an early stage. It’s sometimes used if a cancer is come back. In essence, the lower half of your body is numbed by anesthesia, or you are put to sleep. Cold gases are passed through needles into the prostate, attacking the cancer. This is considered to be less invasive than surgery, but there needs to be more research into the long-term effects of this type of treatment.

Surgery

And this is the most common option to cure prostate cancer, especially if it hasn’t spread outside of the prostate gland. The procedure involves a surgeon removing the prostate gland in its entirety, as well as the tissue around it. You will stay in hospital for a while after the surgery, but it’s been shown to be one of the most effective methods of completely eradicating the cancer. There are other side effects of this, such as a lack of fertility, but because of the level of success, it’s one of the options most generally used.

Yes, prostate cancer is not one of the nicest subjects for any man to talk about, but it’s vital that you get yourself checked on a regular basis for this, so your chances for a healthier and happier life are magnified. Because so many men ignore going to the doctors, this can explain the high percentage. So do yourself a favor and get yourself checked.