These pages tell you about prostate cancer treatment. The treatments that may be offered to you depend on your stage in investigation and the development of the cancer. Set out below are the main treatment options broken down between whether your cancer is at an early or advanced stage.
Amongst the treatments available for early stage prostate cancer are active monitoring/watchful waiting, radiotherapy, brachytherapy and radical prostatectomy.
For advanced prostate cancer hormonal manipulation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the mainstays, with newer treatments emerging all the time.
See treatments for early disease and treatments for advanced disease for a full explanation. You should also note that treatment availability can vary across the hospitals in Scotland.
There are a number of factors you may wish to consider when making your choice as to treatment. What may work for one man may not necessarily be best for another, depending on a number of factors, such as age, stage and grade of the cancer and for the fact that prostate cancer incorporates a huge spectrum of disease - from very indolent cancers that sit in the prostate and do not appear to grow or spread, to rapidly growing and spreading tumours.
This is relevant as all treatments for prostate cancer can have unwanted side effects. It is therfore important to evaluate the benefits of treatment against the risk of side effects in an individual. Choosing the most appropriate treatment will involve giving consideration to a number of factors. These include a man's age, general health, stage of their cancer and any previous treatments they have had.
You may find it helpful to discuss the different options in detail with your doctor. We recommend that you note down your key questions in advance as this will help ensure that you discuss them. The NHS provides a helpful leaflet on things to consider.
In many parts of Scotland there are local support groups of men who also have or are going through treatment which you may find helpful to contact, or discuss matters with Prostate Cancer Support Scotland.
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