Patient/caregiver was instructed upon management measures for prostate cancer as follows:
Management measures for prostate cancer essentially depend upon various factors, such as, the type of cancer, how rapid the cancer is growing, extent of involvement, sites of cancer spread, individual’s age, other coexisting health conditions, and many others. Management measures include
Periodical evaluation:
- Low grade prostate cancers that are confined to a small portion of prostate and are asymptomatic could never be actively treated.
- Periodical evaluation with ultrasound, MRI, and biopsy, as needed could be recommended to watch for progression of cancer growth.
- If no gross changes are noted with regards to prostate cancer, no treatment could be recommended.
- If the cancer is actively growing and starts presenting with symptoms, treatment measures could be recommended.
Radiation therapy:
- This measure could be employed for actively growing cancers that could be either confined to the prostate or spread to distant sites.
- Radiation to the cancer could be provided through external beam, where high-powered radiation beams are delivered to the prostate or small seed sized radiation pellets are implanted into prostate gland and radiation is continuously released from the pellets into the cancerous prostate tissue.
- External beam could be used for cancers that are spread beyond prostate.
- Radiation pellets could be used for cancers that are confined to and involve only prostate tissue.
