Prostate Cancer Cure

Although there is no complete cure for prostate cancer, there are several treatments that can leave patients cancer-free for the remainder of their lives. The two primary treatments are radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy. Radical prostatectomy is a surgical procedure in which the prostate and nearby lymph nodes are removed. Radiation therapy can consist of either bombarding the prostate with radiation or inserting radioactive pellets into the prostate. Both treatments have similar long-term response rates.

Although not considered a cure, watchful waiting can be prescribed as a treatment. Should the growth of the tumor be very slow and its size be relatively small, physicians may suggest simply watching its growth over time. It is often the case that the life expectancy for men with very small prostate cancer tumors and those without prostate cancer are the same. As such, no treatment is suggested.

Another possible treatment is hormone therapy. Hormone therapy attempts to decrease the amount of androgens, or male hormones, in the patient. Androgens are mostly created within the testes, however a very small amount is also produced via the prostate. These hormones also stimulate prostate cancer cell growth when it develops. Patients can be given hormonal injections to decrease androgen levels. After the injections have been administered and maintained for a period of one to two years, the cancerous cell growth is usually decreased along with the actual number of cancer cells. However, should the cancer cease to respond to hormone injection treatment, most physicians believe nothing will satisfactorily cure the cancer completely.

Patients who have undergone any form of prostate cancer treatment should receive regular blood tests every six months for five years. The tests will give an accurate account of the levels of PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, within the blood. If PSA levels remain the same or decrease over time, then the likelihood that the cancer will reappear is small. However, should the levels of PSA increase, it is a possible sign that the cancer has reappeared.