The best advice is to learn all you can about your options. Then, in partnership with your doctors, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about the course of action for you.

It is absolutely vital that you consider your decision carefully. Men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer today are likely to live long lives so any decision taken now will have ramifications in the future.

Take time to consult the professionals. There are three types of prostate cancer specialists – urologists, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists. Each of these will have unique perspectives on the disease and their opinions are to be valued. Taken together, they will offer you the most complete overview of the treatments available and all expected outcomes.

In recent years, active surveillance has become a viable option for many men. If you, for one reason or another, have decided not to undergo surgery or radiation treatment, it may be for you.

The idea behind it is that the cancer is carefully monitored for signs of progression. This usually involves a PSA blood test and DRE on a six-monthly basis along with a yearly biopsy of the prostate.

If symptoms develop or the cancer grows, treatment may be necessary. But if the cancer is slow growing or if you have another serious medical condition, active surveillance will continue.

Surgery is another option. This can be used to remove all or part of the prostate. Usually, men with early-stage cancer will undergo radical prostatectomy – removal of the entire prostate gland plus some of the surrounding tissue – while men with advanced or recurrent cancer may opt for slightly more complicated procedures.

Radiation – the killing of cancer cells and surrounding tissues with directed radioactive exposure – is a third option. The most common type of radiation therapy is external beam radiotherapy. The tumor cells are mapped out using CT scans and MRIs and x-rays are targeted at these specific areas.

There have been huge improvements in radiation over the years. It is now far more precise and as a result, higher and more effective doses can be administered with less chance of damaging surrounding tissue.

Other types of radiation include photon therapy and brachytherapy. Photon therapy is a precise treatment, targeting cells directly. The benefit of brachytherapy is that daily visits to hospital are not necessary. Instead, tiny metal pellets containing radioactive iodine or palladium are inserted into the prostate. Over time, these give off radiation to the immediate area, killing cancer cells.

Hormone therapy is a fourth option. Because testosterone drives the growth of prostate cancer cells, it can be used as part of the treatment. Hormone therapy is designed to stop testosterone from being released or to prevent the hormone from acting on the cells.

The majority of cells respond to this. However, some don’t and they cannot be allowed to grow unchecked. For this reason, hormone therapy is often used in tandem with another treatment.

Chemotherapy is another alternative worth considering. It uses chemicals to kill or halt the growth of cancer cells and can be very effective in the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer.

There are other options too. Cryotherapy – the process whereby the prostate is frozen, killing cells and tumors – has proved effective for some patients. High-intensity focussed ultrasound – which heats the cells in order to kill them – has helped others.

New treatments are emerging all of the time, thanks to ongoing research all over the world. Discuss all of your options with your physicians. Weigh up the possible outcomes and side effects. Armed with all of this information, you’ll be able to make the best decision for you.

Never fear for the following article will help you. There are a number of medications that doctors commonly prescribe to treat prostate cancer. We’ve listed them here. We’ve also explained their function and how they will help your body fight the disease.

There are several types of medication that are commonly used in the treatment of prostate cancer. The first reduces the amount of testosterone produced by the body. This hormone is responsible for prostate growth and if it is slowed, the growth of cancer cells slows along with it. Therefore, slowing its production and blocking its effects on the prostate are primary aims of many medicines.

There are many drugs that perform this particular function. Avodart Oral is one of the most common but others Lupron Depot IM and Eulexin Oral and Nilandron Oral, both of which block the effects of testosterone.

Other types of drugs are used to treat an enlarged prostate, a common symptom of prostate cancer. As anyone who has ever suffered from this will attest, it can be a painful and debilitating condition. It causes the feeling of needing to urinate frequently. It leads to a weak stream of urine. There can be difficulty in beginning the flow of urine. And there can also be a constant need to urinate in the middle of the night.

The drugs work by relaxing the muscles in the bladder neck and prostate. This ultimately leads to the relief of all of the above symptoms.

Among the drugs that do this are Cardura XL Oral, Flomax Oral, Uroxatral Oral and Proscar Oral. They can be taken alone or in combination with other medicines to reduce symptoms and even reduce the need for surgery.

When your body is combating cancer, it may also develop infections. Several types of medication will then be used to fight these infections. Bactrim Oral is a common combination of two antibiotics that are used to treat bacterial infections. Lots of other drugs are used too such as Cipro Oral, Doryx Oral, Floxin Oral and Erythromycin Oral.

Macrodantin Oral is used to treat or prevent certain urinary tract infections. Various types of penicillin may be used to treat other infections. And Tetracycline Oral is an antibiotic that stops the growth of all sorts of bacteria, including that which provokes acne.

Other medications may be employed to treat other symptoms and ailments. Casodex Oral is used in the treatment of prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. It is used in conjunction with hormone treatment and slows the growth of tumors. Hytrin Oral and Minipress Oral are used to treat high blood pressure, which may result from some other treatments.

Prednisone Oral is a hormone which decreases your immune system’s response to various diseases. It reduces symptoms such as swelling and allergies.

Finally, once your treatment is almost over, you may be prescribed Striant Bucl. This contains testosterone and it is used for hormone replacement in men who are no longer able to produce enough testosterone by themselves.

Armed with this list, you should now be able to manoeuvre your way through the many confusing situations that arise following a diagnosis of prostate cancer. When your doctor mentions a medicine, you’ll be able to query its use and function and compare it with those on our list. You’ll be better able to understand just what it happening to you and your body.

However, the bad news is that side effects still exist. It is important to understand how and why they occur. By doing so, you may be able to minimize the impact they have on your daily life.

Here are the side effects most commonly associated with prostate cancer treatment: urinary dysfunction, bowel dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, loss of fertility, effects related to the loss of testosterone and side effects of chemotherapy. Depending on the treatments being used to combat your particular cancer, you may develop some or all of these.

Let’s look at them in more detail. Urinary dysfunction describes both urinary incontinence – which can range from intermittent leaking to complete loss of bladder control – and urinary bother, which includes increased urinary frequency, increased urgency and pain upon urination.

It’s usually men undergoing prostatectomy who experience incontinence. Typically, this problem resolves itself within months.

External beam radiotherapy can irritate the bladder and urethra, causing inflammation of the prostate. These symptoms usually lessen over time too.

In fact, some form of urinary dysfunction is normal following therapy for localised prostate cancer. However, not all symptoms are normal. Some may require immediate care.

Drugs can improve urinary flow. Flomax and Hytrin and other alpha-blockers are commonly used for at least a few weeks and are gradually withdrawn as symptoms improve.

To tackle persistent urinary incontinence, collagen may be injected into the urethra. This tightens the passage, preventing leakage. However, such effects only last for a short time. Surgery may be necessary for those who suffer from long-term problems.

Bowel dysfunction is another common side effect of treatment. This includes diarrhea or frequent stools, fecal incontinence and rectal bleeding.

As techniques improve, these side effects are becoming less common. Unfortunately, they do still occur, particularly following external beam radiotherapy.

Along with urinary and bowel dysfunction, most men will also experience some erectile dysfunction after treatment. The good news is that this should have improved, if not entirely disappeared, within a year.

If it hasn’t, there are ways of managing the problem. Oral medications are effective for many men. There are also medicated pellets which are inserted into the urethra, drugs which are injected into the penis and mechanical devices such as pumps. Surgery – in which a penile implant is inserted – is another option.

One of the saddest implications of prostate cancer treatment is that despite the best efforts of surgeons and oncologists, it is next to impossible for a man to be able to father children through sexual intercourse afterwards. However, this doesn’t mean that fatherhood is no longer an option.

You could try sperm banking. Semen containing sperm can be stored and artificially inseminated when required. Sperm can also be extracted directly from the testicles.

Some specific treatments bring about side effects of their own. Hormone treatment is particularly problematic. Hot flashes, decreased sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, osteoporosis, weight gain, decreased muscle mass, anemia and memory loss; all can result from testosterone depletion.

It’s not all bad news though. There are ways of managing these symptoms and research is ongoing into how best to do so.

Finally, there’s chemotherapy. What’s so complicated about this therapy is that no two people are the same. Nor are cancers. This means that no two people will react to drugs in the same way.

As a result, you’ll have to pay close attention to how your body reacts. Discuss all side effects with your doctor. There are plenty of drugs available to help you counteract them.

By working together, you can ensure that your body is strong and able to focus on its primary task – fighting cancer and returning to full health.

A clinical trial is a medical research study involving volunteers. Such trials play an important role in testing new drugs and combinations of drugs as well as new technology and procedures that may be used in the fight against cancer in future.

Trails are used in all sorts of ways. Not only do they examine new ways of treating cancer but they also study better ways of diagnosing, screening and preventing the disease. Some trials even examine the psychological and social effects of the illness and its treatment.

The researchers conducting trials have four main aims. They want to know if the new treatment or procedure is safe, if it has side effects, if it works better than existing treatments and if it will improve the standard of care for people with cancer.

There are many types of trail but here are some of the most common used in cancer care. Firstly, there are prevention trials. These use drugs, diet, vitamins or other supplements that doctors believe may help lower the risk of contracting a certain type of cancer.

Screening trials examine ways of detecting cancer before symptoms start. Early detection means treatment is more likely to succeed.

Treatment trials are the most common type of all. They look at ways of treating prostate cancer. New drugs, new ways of administering treatment, new combinations of treatments; all of these and more are tested in treatment trials.

Pilot studies are small-scale trials that are designed to test an idea or treatment. If they are successful, a full-scale trial is held.

Quality of life studies look how an illness and/or its treatment affect the patient’s daily life. The aim of these studies is to improve the quality of life for people with cancer.

As trials progress, they move through different phases. Phase 1 is the earliest stage and its main aim is to find a safe dose of the drug or treatment and to find out about its side effects. Usually, only a small number of people (20 to 30) are involved. They are usually in the advanced stages of cancer and they have exhausted all other options open to them. Some will benefit from the trial but many will not. They are doing it in the hope of helping others in future.

Once the drug/treatment has been deemed safe and effective at this stage, it moves on to phase 2. More people (from 50 to 100) are involved in this. Here, the emphasis is still on doses and side effects but researchers are also trying to establish if the drug or treatment is as good as or better than the current standard.

If they can establish this, they can move on to phase 3. This compares the standard treatment with the treatment being tested. This phase of a trial can involve thousands of people, half being treated with the standard and the other half with the trial drug/treatment.

At the end of phase 3, researchers will be confident that the new treatment works but they will still have some questions to answer. What are the long term side effects? And will those who received the new treatment live longer than those who did not? It can take many years to find answers to these questions and this is phase 4.

If you are considering taking part in a clinical trial, you should discuss it carefully with your doctors. They will tell you which trials are currently being run for your type and stage of cancer. They will inform you of the possible advantages and risks. Together, you can weigh up your options and decide on the best course of action.

Active Surveillance is an increasingly popular and viable option. Mostly, it’s chosen by men who – for their own personal reasons – have decided not to undergo surgery or radiation therapy.

Many of them are already struggling to overcome other medical issues. Some, for example, have heart disease. Others may have high blood pressure. And still more might have diabetes that is hard to control. In all of these cases and more, their doctors may recommend that it is in their best interest to delay surgery or radiation. Their bodies are already weakened and they may not be able to withstand these invasive treatments and their potential side effects.

Survivors of prostate cancer treatments will tell you that these treatments can be difficult to endure. Conquering cancer can take all of your strength and the outcomes are always better in men who are otherwise healthy.

So, if you feel that your body might not be up to the fight, it may just be right for you to take some time out. Focus on bringing your body up to its optimum health and practice some Active Surveillance while you get it to this level.

So, what exactly is Active Surveillance? Essentially, it’s a process of keeping a watchful eye on your body. Your doctor will carefully monitor your cancer for any signs of progression. Typically, a PSA blood test and DRE will be administered every six months and scrutinised for any signs of cancer growth. A biopsy will also be performed on the prostate every year to ensure that the cancer is still under control.

These tests are very reliable. The PSA blood test tests for the presence of the PSA protein in the bloodstream. This protein is produced in small amounts by the prostate. When there is a problem, more and more of it is released. This makes it a good indicator of prostate cancer.

However, the presence of elevated PSA levels are not entirely conclusive by themselves. During a PSA test, a small amount of blood is drawn from the arm and the level of PSA is measured. If it’s over 4ng/ML, it’s cause for worry. That worry need not necessarily be related to cancer as PSA can be elevated if other prostate problems are present.

This is why we need another test to corroborate the findings of the PSA test – the DRE. The DRE is a digital rectal exam. During this exam, the physician will insert a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum in order to examine for any irregularities in size, shape or texture. Irregularities combined with elevated PSA levels are a cause for concern.

With Active Surveillance, you will undergo both these exams on a regular basis. Provided your cancer remains under control, you will be able to focus on making your body strong enough to progress to another, stronger form of treatment when the time comes. This is precious time. Put it to good use, preparing your body for the challenges to come.

Active Surveillance has been shown to be a good choice for many men with slow-growing or early stage cancers. As previously mentioned, it can also be a good alternative for men who have other serious medical conditions. However, if symptoms do develop and if the cancer does start to grow, treatment might be warranted. You must be ready for this to occur at any time.

Usually, it’s men with early-stage cancer, cancer that is located only in the prostate, who undergo radical prostatectomy. This is a straightforward procedure that consists of the removal of the entire gland along with some surrounding tissue. Men with advanced or recurrent cancer typically have little option but to undergo more complicated surgical procedures.

If you are facing this surgery, here is what you should expect. In the most common type of prostatectomy – a radical retropubic prostatectomy – a small incision is made into the abdomen and the prostate is cut out from behind the pubic bone. Having removed the prostate, the surgeon stitches the urethra directly to the bladder so that urine will continue to flow.

The surgeon will also insert a catheter or tube into the bladder. This is a short-term measure because it usually takes a few days for the body to adapt to the new system. In the meantime, with the catheter in place, urine will flow automatically out of the bladder, through the urethra and into a collection bag without any need for conscious control of the sphincter muscle. You can expect to wear this catheter for up to ten days.

Some surgeons prefer a slightly different form of prostatectomy – the radical perineal prostatectomy. In this procedure, the surgeon makes the incision into the perineum – the space between the scrotum and the anus – and the prostate is removed from behind.

There are other surgical options too. In a nerve-sparing prostatectomy, the surgeon cuts to the very edges of the prostate, taking the utmost care to spare the erectile nerves that run alongside the gland. Unfortunately, in some cases, the cancer may already have spread into these nerves and they too may have to be removed.

If this happens, the surgeon will try to surgically attach or graft nerves from other parts of the body to the ends of the cut erectile nerves. It is not always possible but all efforts will be made to do so.

Another option is laparoscopic surgery. In this procedure, very small incisions are made in the abdomen, into which the surgeon inserts narrow instruments fitted with cameras and/or surgical tools. These will allow the surgeon to see and to operate on internal organs without opening the entire abdomen.

While these procedures are quite different, essentially, all of them offer the same degree of risk and possible benefits. When it comes to making a choice, It’s not the type of surgery that ought to concern you most but the surgeon performing that surgery.

A prostatectomy – no matter which type – is a delicate procedure. The difference between a good and a very good surgeon can be huge when it comes to the eventual outcome and possible long-term side effects.

This means that you should take your choice of surgeon extremely seriously. Ensure that they are someone you can put your utmost confidence in. Make sure they have lots of experience in this particular type of surgery. After all, not all procedures go according to plan. Your surgeon may need to make a split-second decision that will have ramifications for you and your body for the rest of your life. You need to be sure that they will make the right call. Your body, your chances of beating cancer and maybe even your life depend on it.

Once your surgery is complete and successful, you will then be able to embark on recovery. However, you will always have to pay attention to your body in future. If cancer is to recur, you must catch it early. The earlier treatment is begun, the better the eventual outcome.

One of the reasons that it is so popular is that it is highly effective It has proven to be successful at treating all forms of prostate cancer, from an initial manifestation of the disease to advanced or recurrent forms of cancer.

If you are currently facing the prospect of radiation, you must be wondering what to expect. Read on and you will discover all you need to know.

There are several different kinds of radiation therapy. The most common is external beam radiotherapy. The first step in this process uses CT scans and MRI machines to map out the exact location of the tumor cells. X-rays are then targeted directly at these specific areas. Using 3D conformal radiotherapy, a computerised programme maps out the specific location of the tumors so that the highest dose of radiation can reach the cancer cells within the prostate gland.

Advances in radiation technology now means much better delivery. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) allows oncologists to change the intensity of the doses and radiation beams in order to better target the prostate, while at the same time delivering lower doses to cells that are immediately adjacent to the bladder and rectal tissue.

This means that radiation therapy is much more precise and effective than ever before. There is also far less risk of damaging the surrounding tissue.

If you have opted for this form of radiation, you are going to be spending quite some time at your local hospital. Treatment usually runs for five days a week for about seven to eight weeks, normally on an outpatient basis.

There are other forms of radiation therapy too. While X-rays are the most common way of dealing with tumors, proton therapy is also becoming more widespread. The advantage associated with this type of radiation is that it is more precise. Protons of energetic particles can be aimed at a target without affecting surrounding tissue in the slightest.

Proton treatment is very effective at treating localized tumors before they have spread to other parts of the body. However, it is expensive and as a result, there are only a handful of medical centers currently offering the facility.

Brachytherapy is another radiation option. It’s not as time consuming as the others and doesn’t require regular trips to hospital. Instead, what happens is that tiny metal pellets containing radioactive iodine or palladium are injected into the prostate. Over the course of several months, these pellets will give off radiation to the surrounding area, killing the prostate cancer cells as they do so.

Within a year or so, the radioactive material should have done its work. Its radioactivity will have degraded and the pellets that remain will be totally harmless.

Together with your oncologist, you will decide on the best form of radiation for you. Just as in other areas of cancer treatment, your choice of oncologist is vital. Surgical skill plays an important role in determining the outcome of prostatectomy and so too does technical skill and manual dexterity influence the outcome of your radiation therapy.

The massive improvements in computer software have assisted greatly with the planning of radiation doses and in the targeting of prostate tissue. But, in the end, the skill and experience of your oncologist is still an important factor.

You must therefore choose your radiation oncologist very carefully. Make sure they have broad experience in a range of approaches. It is this that will allow them to help you to decide on the best course of treatment for your prostate cancer.

This is the theory upon which hormone therapy is based. Because the hormone testosterone functions as the main fuel for prostate cancer cell growth, it is a common target for therapeutic intervention in men with the disease.

Hormone therapy – also known as androgen-deprivation therapy or ADT – aims to stop testosterone from being released or to prevent the hormone from acting on the cells. It can be used at any stage of prostate cancer – before, after and during local treatment and in men with advanced stages of the disease.

The good news regarding hormone therapy is that the majority of cancer cells respond to the removal of testosterone. Unfortunately, there are some that don’t and will therefore remain unaffected by hormone therapy. These cannot be allowed to grow unchecked and as a result, hormone therapy often has to be used in combination with another treatment.

Like most treatments, hormone therapy isn’t perfect and it is certainly not a cure all for prostate cancer. But it is an important weapon in the fight against the disease and it usually plays a significant part in every man’s treatment.

There are several different types of hormone therapy. Orchiectomy involves the surgical removal of the testicles. Because about 90% of testosterone is produced by the testicles, removing them is an effective solution. However, because this is such a permanent and irreversible procedure, most men today choose drug therapy instead.

For those who do choose this option, here is what you need to know. This procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis in the urologist’s office. You will recover quickly and no further hormone therapy will be necessary. This makes orchiectomy a low-cost and quick solution.

Another option is to use LHRH agonists. LHRH (luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone, also called GnRH or gonadotropin-releasing hormone) is one of the key hormones released by the body before testosterone is produced. Blocking its release through the use of LHRH agonists or analogues is one of the most common ways of treating men with prostate cancer.

A range of different drugs can be used for this. Leuprolide, goserelin and triptorelin are most frequently used and they are usually given in the form of regular injections. Depending on what your doctor decides, you may be injected once a month, once every three months, once every four months or once a year.

When you are given your LHRH agonists, you may also be given some antiandrogens. This is because LHRH agonists can cause what is known as a flare’ reaction. The presence of LHRH agonists leads to an initial rise in testosterone, which results in a variety of symptoms. These can be painful and irritating and range from bone pain to urinary frequency or difficulty.

Antiandrogens counteract this. Antiandrogens such as bicalutamide, flutamide and nilutamide help to block the action of testosterone in prostate cancer cells. Your doctor will probably add them to the LHRH agonist for at least the first four weeks of hormone therapy, thereby preventing any adverse reaction.

Orchiectomy and the use of LHRH agonists (along with antiandrogens) are all effective in the control of prostate cancer cells. However, there are inevitably going to be side effects. Testosterone is a vital hormone in the male system and its loss brings about changes in nearly all men. From weight gain and decreased muscle mass to memory loss, erectile dysfunction and fatigue; these symptoms can be severe.

Be sure to discuss all changes in your body with your doctor. You should be able to take steps to manage the side effects and improve your quality of life while continuing to fight prostate cancer as best you can.

Chemotherapy refers to any type of therapy that uses chemicals to kill or halt the growth of cancer cells. The drugs used work in a variety of ways but they are all based on the same principle: stop the cells from dividing and you stop the growth and spread of the cancer.

The reason many people are so fearful of chemotherapy is that until recently it was only used to relieve symptoms associated with very advanced or metastatic cancer. It was rarely used in the early stages of the disease. However, in 2004, it was discovered that chemotherapy using Taxotere could prolong the lives of men with prostate cancer that no longer responded to hormone therapy. Following this finding, more and more doctors are being converted to the potential offered by chemotherapy.

In fact, so excited are the medical profession about these possibilities that there are now lots of clinical trials studying various combinations of chemotherapy drugs. Some of these are aiming to find a chemotherapy regimen that is more tolerable/more effective than the current standard being used for men with metastatic cancer. Others are looking to find a regimen that will delay the onset of metastasis and still more are seeking to improve the results of the current standard by mixing it with new agents.

Like all cancer treatments and especially cancer trials, the primary aim of researchers is to find a way of maximizing the benefits of the therapy while minimizing side effects. Chemotherapy is similar to all other powerful drugs in that it can cause severe side effects. You are bound to have heard stories about the impact it has had on other patients. You too are sure to suffer from some of these effects.

It is impossible to predict what these might be. Because everyone is different and because we all react differently to drugs, no two people will react to the same drugs in the same way.

As a result, you should pay close attention to how the drugs make you feel. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists will also be on the lookout for adverse reactions but you may experience something unexpected. If you do, be sure to tell them immediately. An unexplained side effect may not be a cause for worry but it is better to be cautious than to ignore something that might cause harm and damage in the long term.

Some people undergoing chemotherapy feel an obligation to suffer in silence. After all, chemotherapy is supposed to be uncomfortable, isn’t it? This is not the correct approach to follow. There are many different drugs available today which help to ward off or treat the different side effects.

Some tackle the nausea or vomiting that is often associated with chemotherapy. Others help with sleep problems and exhaustion. You should take them. You will be better able to fight off the cancer if your body is rested and relaxed.

Many doctors will go so far as to say that relaxation is key to recovery. Chemotherapy drugs are very powerful and they can take a strong toll on the body. If you can focus on finding a way to relax – by listening to music, watching movies, going for a walk by the sea – you will be contributing to your overall wellbeing. This will allow your body to focus on the main task at hand; getting back to optimum health.

It’s worth knowing exactly what these are so that you can explore all of the options open to you. Let’s start with cryotherapy. Also known as cryosurgery or cryoablation, this has been around for a long time but it’s only recently moved into mainstream medicine.

With this approach, probes are inserted into the prostate through the perineum (the space between the scrotum and the anus) and argon gas or liquid nitrogen is delivered to the prostate. This results in freezing the prostate and any cancerous tumors or cells – killing them upon impact.

While this procedure sounds simple and effective, there are risks associated with it. Improvements are ongoing and in recent years, significant steps have been taken to avoid freezing and causing damage to nearby body parts. However, despite such progress, the rates of erectile and urinary dysfunction that occur as a result of this treatment remain high.

If you’ve developed a certain type of prostate cancer, cryotherapy may be worth the risk. It has been used as a secondary local therapy in men who have already undergone radiation therapy as an initial treatment for early-state prostate cancer. This tends to work best in men in which the disease remains confined.

Another option in the treatment of prostate cancer is high-intensity-focused ultrasound or HIFU. This works in exactly the opposite way to cryotherapy. Instead of freezing the cells, HIFU heats them to death. A probe is inserted into the rectum, from which very high-intensity ultrasound waves are delivered to the target area.

This technique is still in its experimental stages, particularly in the United States. It’s already being used in Europe and the success rates are proving to be significant.

The other alternative to radiation and surgery is of course primary hormone therapy. Also known as androgen-deprivation therapy or ADT, this is designed to stop testosterone from being released or to prevent the hormone from acting upon the prostate cells.

Testosterone has been proven to be the fuel that drives the growth of most prostate cancer cells. Therefore, if its production can be decreased or if it can be prevented from acting upon the cells, the cancer will be unable to spread.

While it is usually used in conjunction with other treatments, more and more men are now opting to use hormone therapy as a stand-alone treatment for localized prostate cancer. This is particularly true of men who have practiced active surveillance for as long as possible and now need to move on to a stronger form of treatment. Their bodies may not be ready for invasive therapies and hormone therapy might slow the growth of the cancer until they are ready to take the next step.

No matter which of these treatments or others you decide to opt for, you should continue to pay close attention to your overall state of health. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar and starch, hydrogenated fats and artificial preservatives and sweeteners. Replace them with whole foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and modest amounts of animal proteins including fish, eggs and chicken.

Find out about vitamin and mineral supplements. Exercise more often. In general, keep your body as fit as you possibly can. After all, it’s currently fighting a battle and it will need every weapon in its arsenal if it is to win.

One final word of caution: before embarking on any changes – whether in your diet or in your daily routine – be sure to discuss them with your doctor. This is a battle you and your doctors are fighting together.