There are many ways to treat prostate cancer. The main ones are to wait (and not treat for now), or to have surgery, radiotherapy, or cryosurgery, which freezes the prostate to destroy the cancer.
Some men may need hormone therapy, and some have chemotherapy although this is less common. If you have prostate cancer, you might need one of these, or a combination of them.
Your doctors will talk to you about what treatments they recommend and what your options are, so there won’t be any surprises.
Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker about which treatment you might have.
Watchful waiting
Watchful waiting means your doctors and you wait to see what happens. Sometimes prostate cancer doesn’t grow much and doesn’t cause any problems. You’ll see your doctor regularly, and you might have regular blood tests or other tests.
If there are signs the cancer is growing, you can discuss treatment with your doctor.
Surgery
Surgery is a procedure done to take out the cancer and help to stop it from spreading to other parts of your body. Surgery involves staying in hospital and having an anaesthetic and an operation.
There are different types of surgery, and how you will feel afterwards depends on what type you have.
Most men have a catheter, which is a long tube from their bladder through their penis. It drains their urine into a bag. It is usually taken out in a week or two.
The doctor will talk to you beforehand about what is going to happen. Yarn with your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker about your surgery and what support you and your family need before, during and after surgery.
Being away from Country and family can be distressing so making sure you have the right support is important.
Read more about surgery.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy, or radiation therapy, uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells in one part of your body.
Some men have radiotherapy from the outside, where a machine beams X-rays at their prostate. Men having this radiotherapy have it 5 days a week for 4-6 weeks, and each session takes around 15 minutes. But it might be different for you.
Other men have radiotherapy from the inside. Little capsules are put in your bladder. They give off radiation, hoping to kill the cancer.
You can only have radiotherapy in cities and some big towns – see this list. If your doctor thinks radiotherapy would help, and you don’t live near a radiotherapy site, there is help to find somewhere to stay, support to keep you connected to family and assistance to cover expenses. Having family with you during radiotherapy treatment is an important support that helps keeps you strong.
Yarn with your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker or social worker about your radiotherapy and what support you and your family need before, during and after treatment. Being away from Country and family can be distressing so making sure you have the right support is important. You can also read more about radiotherapy.
Brachytherapy
Radiation therapy can also be given internally. This is called brachytherapy. It involves giving radiation via a needle or another device. The device stays in place from a few minutes to a few days. Depending on the treatment and the dose of radiation you receive, you might need to stay in hospital or make a daily visit for treatment.
Your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker will be able to yarn with you about which type of radiotherapy is right for you.
Read more about brachytherapy.
Cryosurgery
Some men have cryosurgery, also called cryotherapy. In this treatment, long needles are put into your prostate, then very cold gases run into them. They freeze the cancer cells and kill them.
Read more about cryosurgery.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves taking strong drugs to kill the cancer cells.
Many people have chemo in cycles – usually one day every two or three weeks. But this can be different for each patient.
Most chemo comes as injections into your arm or hand that drip in over an hour or two. You usually need to go to a hospital or clinic to get the drip. You don’t need to stay in hospital for chemo. Some chemo comes as tablets. If you’re having chemo, your doctor will tell you exactly how it will work for you.
Chemo can make people feel sick for a while, but there are things they can do and take to help. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker. Read more about chemotherapy and side effects.
Androgen Deprivation Therapy (Hormone therapy)
Some types of cancer, including prostate cancer, need certain hormones to grow. By reducing the levels of these hormones in the body, the cancer can slow its growth or even shrink. In the case of prostate cancer, the hormones used by the cells are called androgens, such as testosterone.
Hormone therapy for prostate cancer is called Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT). This can be achieved through a few ways:
- Orchiectomy – removal of one or both testicles as these normally make testosterone and androgens for the body
- Medicine that stops testosterone from being made (Luteinising hormone – releasing hormone analogues) -these can come in the form of tablets or injections that you need every few months
- Medicine to stop androgen production at different sites
- Medicine that stops androgen from binding to the cancer cells.
Your treating team will discuss these different options with you and recommend the best treatment based on your circumstances.
Read more about hormone therapy.