It is not a death sentence. You have a disease and it is called cancer. Now we don’t want you to take it lightly. What we want you to do is get educated and learn all you can about your situation.
- What is your PSA?
- What is your Gleason score?
- What is your Partin score?
- What is your Free PSA score?
- Is your cancer capsulated within the prostate?
- Has your cancer metastasized (spread beyond the prostate)?
- What is your age to treatment factor?
- What is your overall physical condition?
Discuss the following questions with your doctor:
- Do you perform nerve sparing surgery?
- Am I a candidate for this procedure?
- How successful has the nerve sparing surgery been in your experience?
- What has your success rate been with patients being impotent or incontinent after surgery?
- What treatments are available if I become impotent or incontinent?
- How much experience has your doctor had performing your choice of treatment?
The answer to these questions will help you and your doctor decide the kind of treatment that is best for you.
The level of PSA in your blood will be the indicator that says whether or not you are truly cancer free. If you are cancer free, your PSA will stay close to zero. If there are still cancer cells somewhere in your body, the PSA level in your blood will start to rise.
If after you have completed your treatment and the PSA levels in your blood start to increase and your doctor tells you that the cancer has returned, at that time he or she will recommend some kind of salvage treatment. The salvage treatment options that are open to you will depend on the kind of treatment that you initially had.
We have listed the different treatment options. How they are preformed, the advantages and disadvantages to each one, and if necessary, the kinds of salvage treatments that are available.
Recent Comments