How is prostate cancer treated?

The treatment of prostate cancer can vary. It depends on the stage, grade and size of the tumour, the PSA level, your age, general health, lifestyle, and likely side-effects of treatment.

Some ways to treat prostate cancer include:

• Active surveillance/watchful waiting
• Surgery
• External beam radiotherapy
• Brachytherapy
• Hormone therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Other treatments: cryotherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound   HIFU

Active surveillance/watchful waiting

Some early stage prostate cancers may be very slow growing. For this reason, some patients and specialists might decide to wait and see if the cancer is growing before starting any treatment. It may be an option if the cancer is not causing any symptoms and is small and only found in one place in the prostate. Some men choose watchful waiting because they feel the side-effects of strong treatments outweigh the benefits. Active surveillance involves regular check-ups with PSA tests and rectal exams and sometimes biopsies. If you start to have symptoms or if your PSA begins to rise, you can think about other treatments.