“Can surgery help with prostate cancer?”
My friend is 38 year old, and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Can surgery help with this? What are the other treatment options?
2 Answers
Hello,
You are asking a very interesting question. The question of the initial treatment of prostate cancer depends on several factors. The age of 38 is a very young age to develop prostate cancer. The patient should have a genetic evaluation to be certain that there are no familial concerns to further evaluate. This would also be important for any children to be aware of and if positive, one must make certain that children may not have inherited the propensity to develop prostate cancer. However, I am assuming that an examination was performed and a prostate specific antigen test was performed. I am also presuming that a prostate biopsy was performed to be certain of the diagnosis.
The treatment depends on several factors. The best place to look for information is in the guidelines panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (www.nccn.org). This group is an organization consisting of many cancer center members in the USA which publishes guidelines for the treatment of about 97% of cancers. These are updated annually or more often as articles are published in order to stay current.
Several approaches are recommended. One is a radical prostatectomy and node dissection. Other treatment approaches, depending on the risk group for the individual patient include external beam radiation, endocrine therapy, or observation. The treatment approach to be followed depends on the physician recommendation and the patient"s desires. Surgery, in my
opinion, provides the best chance of curing the illness if the patient is in the proper risk group. These options need to be discussed with the patient's doctor and the risks and benefits of each treatment group need to be identified.
You are asking a very interesting question. The question of the initial treatment of prostate cancer depends on several factors. The age of 38 is a very young age to develop prostate cancer. The patient should have a genetic evaluation to be certain that there are no familial concerns to further evaluate. This would also be important for any children to be aware of and if positive, one must make certain that children may not have inherited the propensity to develop prostate cancer. However, I am assuming that an examination was performed and a prostate specific antigen test was performed. I am also presuming that a prostate biopsy was performed to be certain of the diagnosis.
The treatment depends on several factors. The best place to look for information is in the guidelines panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (www.nccn.org). This group is an organization consisting of many cancer center members in the USA which publishes guidelines for the treatment of about 97% of cancers. These are updated annually or more often as articles are published in order to stay current.
Several approaches are recommended. One is a radical prostatectomy and node dissection. Other treatment approaches, depending on the risk group for the individual patient include external beam radiation, endocrine therapy, or observation. The treatment approach to be followed depends on the physician recommendation and the patient"s desires. Surgery, in my
opinion, provides the best chance of curing the illness if the patient is in the proper risk group. These options need to be discussed with the patient's doctor and the risks and benefits of each treatment group need to be identified.
Treatment options for prostate cancer include surgical removal as well as radiation therapy. They both have risks and benefits. Your friend should consult with a urologic surgeon that has experience treating prostate cancer to get an opinion
