Prostate cancer Treatments and drugs

Consultation with all three types of prostate cancer specialists—a urologist, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist—will offer the most comprehensive assessment of the available treatments and expected outcomes.

Click on the following for more information about particular treatment options for prostate cancer:

• Active Surveillance
• Prostatectomy (Surgery)
• Radiation Therapy
• Radiation Therapy for Advanced or Recurrent Prostate Cancer
• Hormone Therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Other Treatment Options
• Emerging Therapies

For some men a combination of treatments — such as surgery followed by radiation or radiation paired with hormone therapy — works best. The treatment that's best for each man depends on several factors. The most common treatments for prostate cancer include the following:

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
External beam radiation treatment uses high-powered X-rays to kill cancer cells. Computer-imaging software helps your doctor find the best angles to aim the beams of radiation. Precisely focused radiation kills cancer in your prostate while minimizing harm to surrounding tissue.

Each treatment appointment takes about 10 minutes. You don't need anesthesia with external beam radiation, because the treatment isn't painful.

Ink marks on your skin help guide the radiation beam, and small gold markers may be placed in your prostate to ensure the radiation hits the same targets each time. Custom-designed shields help protect nearby normal tissue, such as your bladder, erectile tissues, anus and rectal wall.

EBRT can cause mild side effects, but in most cases they disappear shortly after your course of treatment is finished.

Side effects of EBRT can include:

Urinary problems. Long-term problems are uncommon.

Loose stools, rectal bleeding, discomfort during bowel movements or a sense of needing to have a bowel movement (rectal urgency). Rarely, men develop persistent bleeding or a rectal ulcer after radiation. Sexual side effects. Radiation therapy doesn't usually cause immediate sexual side effects such as erectile dysfunction, but some men who've had the treatment have sexual problems later in life.