Medical Treatments for Prostate Cancer

There are many different medical treatments for prostate cancer that involve the clinical care of a healthcare professional. These treatments include expectant therapy, surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. Expectant therapy is to carefully observe and monitor the prostate cancer. Because prostate cancer cells often spread very slowly, many older men who have the disease may not need more extensive treatment. However, expectant therapy usually includes routine physician examinations, including digital rectal exams and PSA tests. The different types of surgery for prostate cancer are radical prostatectomy - an open-surgery procedure in which the entire prostate gland and surrounding tissue are removed. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) - surgery to remove part of the prostate gland that surrounds the urethra. Cryosurgery - this procedure involves killing the cancer cells by freezing them with a small metal tool placed in the tumor. Side effects of prostate cancer surgery include incontinence and impotence. Incontinence is the inability to control urine and may result in dribbling of urine, especially immediately after surgery. Normal control usually returns within weeks or months after surgery. Impotence is the inability to achieve an erection. For a month, or so, after surgery, most men are not able to get an erection. Eventually, approximately 40 to 60 percent of men will be able to get an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse, but without ejaculation of semen, since removal of the prostate gland prevents that process.

Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill or shrink cancer cells, and to decrease their ability to divide. Radiation is often used to treat prostate cancer that is still confined to the prostate gland, or has spread only to nearby tissue. If the disease is advanced, radiation may be used to reduce the size of the tumor and to provide relief from symptoms. Possible side effects of radiation for prostate cancer may include diarrhea, with or without blood in the stool, and colitis, problems associated with urination, a degree of impotence (inability to get an erection), which may occur within two years of radiation therapy.

The goal of hormone therapy is to lower the level of male hormones in the body, particularly testosterone. Hormone therapy does not cure the cancer, and is often used to treat persons whose cancer has spread or recurred after treatment. Produced mainly in the testicles, testosterone causes prostate cancer cells to grow. Thus, reduced testosterone levels can make the prostate cancer shrink and become less active. Most studies show that hormone therapy works better if it is started early. Chemotherapy is the use of powerful, anti-cancer medications to kill cancer cells.. Hospitalization may be needed to monitor treatment and chemotherapy's side effects. Common side effects of chemotherapy include: nausea and vomiting, hair loss, anemia, reduced ability of blood to clot, mouth sores, increased likelihood of developing infections, fatigue. Most side effects disappear once treatment is stopped.

after incontinence prostate surgery
HDIS | Understanding Prostate Incontinence
Prostate Surgery & Incontinence. The two most common surgical procedures for prostrate which may improve bladder control after prostate surgery.

Healthful Life: E-newsletter
Impotence and urinary incontinence after prostate surgery - how big a problem? (March 2001). Two strikingly different reports by well-respected groups were

University Of Florida Surgeons Pioneer Procedure To Prevent
Incontinence plagues as many as 1 in 4 men after prostate surgery, in part because the bladder shifts to fill the 2- to 4-centimeter space left after the

Incontinence Prostate Surgery at Henry Ford
Incontinence prostate surgery : The urologists at the Vattikuti Urology Institute Risk of Incontinence After Treatment Urinary incontinence is the

Prostate Cancer, Side Effects of Prostate Surgery, Seattle
Many men are afraid they will be incontinent after prostate surgery. However, with an expert surgeon, the risk of bad incontinence is less than 2 percent.

Prostate Cancer Research Institute - Incontinence Treatment
Loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence) after prostate surgery is a devastating complication, which has a significant negative impact on quality of

Treatments for incontinence after prostate surgery
Treatments for incontinence after prostate surgery. With Douglas Dewire, MD, Urologist at Columbia St. Maryâ™s. Posted: Sept. 1, 2007

Incontinence | Prostate Cancer Information | UPMC Cancer Centers
Stress incontinence, urine leakage with activity, is the most common type of incontinence after prostate surgery. It is usually caused by a weak or damaged

Urinary problems after prostate cancer
Sometimes men have temporary incontinence after prostate surgery or radiotherapy. So the problem may get better with time. But you will still have to manage

What happens after prostate cancer surgery? March 2000; 73-6
Clearly the proportion of men who considered urinary incontinence to be a problem surged in the 6-12 month period after surgery, and then settled somewhat.

Incontinence and the bladder, information about
Temporary incontinence and occasional passage of blood in the urine happen to almost all patients after they have prostate surgery.

prostate cancer and incontinence
Incontinence after prostate surgery can be due to stress, urge or mixed UI. In men, stress incontinence can occur as a result of intrinsic urethral

prostate cancer and incontinence
Incontinence after prostate surgery can be due to stress, urge or mixed UI. Urge incontinence may also occur after prostate surgery and involves an

Top 12 Urinary Incontinence Questions - Depend.com
The Top 12 Questions About Incontinence: What You Should Be Asking Your Doctor. â¢, Incontinence After Prostate Surgery: A Guide to Recovery and Management

Prostate Cancer and Incontinence - WebMD
Loss of urine with a cough, sneeze or laugh is called stress incontinence and is the most common type of urine leakage men experience after prostate surgery

ACS :: Exercises Speed Return of Bladder Control After Prostate
Bladder Control an Important Issue after Prostate Surgery Incontinence after radical prostatectomy can have different causes. Problems with the bladder

Sex after prostate surgery, a first-person story
less than 5 weeks after surgery; another man continues to indicate he was not More on 0.1% incontinence later. Five days after the catheter was removed


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