(BPT) – Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men other than skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in 7 men will have prostate cancer detected during their lifetime. The disease can strike any man at any time; men who are over the age of 60, have a family history of prostate cancer, are African-Americans, or were exposed to Agent Orange have an increased risk for diagnosis.
“Hearing the words ‘you have prostate cancer’ can be devastating and the treatment options overwhelming. Men need to learn about and fully evaluate their options with their treatment team,” says Jamie Bearse, CEO of ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer. “Our organization provides an extensive number of tools men and their loved ones can use to help them understand what a diagnosis means and navigate the treatment journey, including website content covering screening to survivorship and our case management patient support and navigation program, ZERO360.”
Many people find it helpful to bring someone with them to their doctor appointments to take notes or record the session. It can be difficult to focus during conversations about the diagnosis, so having caring partners in the room can be advantageous when later trying to recall.
Tips to consider for managing prostate cancer:
P: Prepare a list of questions for your doctor. Anything and everything is okay to ask.
R: Reach out to others and learn from their experiences.
O: Outline a schedule to stay on top of your treatments.
S: Share your news with family and friends. Don’t go it alone.
T: Take time to process the news, then take action.
A: Act as your own advocate throughout your treatment process.
T: Tap into activities that will help you to maintain a positive outlook.
E: Explore treatment options and act now. Innovations in care have changed the way prostate cancer is managed.
In many respects, Scott Silver was like other retired men his age. He spent time fishing, golfing and teaching, and had an annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. When his PSA level rose to 3.68 (low risk) and a biopsy revealed he had prostate cancer, Scott decided to explore his options.
Says Scott, ‘It was important to me to identify a treatment that I believed would eliminate my cancer and minimize my chance of developing complications such as impotence or incontinence. After conducting extensive research and speaking with family and friends, I had a conversation with my doctor. Together, we decided that treatment with CyberKnife(R) was the right option for me. It’s been 11 years since my treatment and I continue to do well. And while each person’s experience is different, I’ve had no complications or side effects from treatment.’
Prostate cancer treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy or active monitoring. Each man should consult his physician regarding his specific diagnosis and treatment options. Among the considerations that a doctor will factor into a treatment recommendation is the man’s prostate cancer classification, often referred to as his ‘risk’ profile. One of the more innovative radiation treatments is stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which the American Society for Radiation Oncology supports as an option for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
SBRT is a radiation treatment that combines a high degree of targeting accuracy with very high doses of extremely precise, externally delivered radiation, thereby maximizing the cell-killing effect on the tumor while sparing healthy surrounding tissue. Prostate SBRT is generally five treatments delivered over one or two weeks.
The CyberKnife(R) System is a radiation therapy device designed to deliver SBRT. The system’s unique ability to continually track and automatically correct for movement of the prostate in real time throughout the entire treatment session provides distinct advantages when treating a tumor, which can move as much as 10 mm in as little as 30 seconds. Visit www.cyberknife.com for more information.
Two CyberKnife System prostate SBRT studies have recently reported on long-term (five-year) outcomes. These are the largest prospective multi-institution studies conducted to date and provide robust clinical data supporting the safety and efficacy of the system for men like Scott with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
For Important Safety Information, please visit http://www.accuray.com/safety-statement.
Brandpoint – Free Online Content
http://www.youtube.com/v/gQeYUEj9i_g?fs=1
* To find out more about prostate cancer treatments visit: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/type/prostate-cancer/ Watch more videos about prostate cancer treatments at the end of this video.
This video explains what treatments are available for prostate cancer and the factors that determine what treatment a person might have. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK so it’s important to know the facts.
Dr. Vincent Gnanapragasm from Cambridge University talks us through prostate cancer treatments:
Over 80% of men live for 10 or more years after a diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. I’ve come to Cambridge university hospital to speak with Dr. Vincent Gnanapragasam about some of the treatments that are available for this type of Cancer. So Vincent what are the important factors when deciding what type of treatment a person should have?
The treatment options for Prostate Cancer are very much dependent on what type of cancer an individual has and also the patient themselves. So if a cancer is confined to within the prostate gland then we might be able to treat it with surgery or radiotherapy, but equally there might be a very slow growing tumour which we can just keep an eye on that. But the kind of cancer is determined by the size of it or the stage of a cancer, the type of cancer it is or the grade and also the PSA test. Now we use those 3 put together to create an idea of the risk of a particular individual dying of prostate cancer.
What treatments are available? In general there is surgery to remove the prostate gland, radiotherapy where you deliver high intensity radiation beams or surveillance where we can monitor or just check on someone and defer treatment until later. So a number of different options then Vincent but how do you decide what one is best? That decision is left to the patient in consultation with his consultant or his nurse specialist and comes down to whether the patient feels that a particular type of treatment is best suited for their lifestyle and also the risks and side effects which may come about from that.
And what happens when treatment is finished? After treatment is finished the patient enters a phase of very close monitoring and where they’ll be seen regularly in hospital often with a PSA test being done on a regular interval. What about for treatment of cancers that have been spread? When a cancer has spread beyond a prostate then the most common treatment is hormonal therapy and that serves to keep the cancer under control and many men can live for many years with that and if that should fail there are actually other drugs that can be used, chemotherapies which again can be very effective.
Dealing with cancer is never easy and this is especially so when deciding about treatments. But of course it helps if you know the facts. If you or anyone you know has been diagnosed with Prostate cancer and you’d like further information visit the cancer research UK website or see the other videos in this series.
Prostate Cancer Treatment | Cancer Research UK
Health & Vitality: the Way to Good Health
Start living a healthy life now: Here is your 7-day plan ==> Having sworn to yourself that you’ll go to the gym in the morning, how many times have you changed your mind after you woke up and did not feel like working out? We all have days when we lose our motivation to get […]
Science-based Suggestions for self-confidence
A recent study shows your perception of your own image has a profound effect on how you present yourself to the rest of the world. Those findings could be empowering since even small changes to your self-care routine can significantly boost your self-confidence. The study by researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business found […]
5 ways to feel good while getting fit
(BPT) – Setting intentions is a powerful thing. Then when you have that shiny new gym membership in hand, you feel like nothing stands between you and your goals to get in shape once and for all. Trouble is, lack of motivation, unpreparedness and busy schedules have a way of interfering with our plans. If […]
When buying hearing aids: 6 essential things to know
(BPT) – Being an informed health care consumer is hard work. There is information everywhere. But how do you sift through it and make sense of it all? And how do you know what is reliable and what isn’t? Sorting through the noise when buying hearing aids is no exception. In the past several months, […]
I have prostate problem. so I feel..that I have no idea before. if I got it early. I did not do mistake to use my self wrongly so I suggest to education department please include syllabus in school and college to give basic lessons of this disease. I thank all doctor to explained about prostate disease and treatment. Thanks.
Very informative and easy to follow. Great video!
Very informative and easy to follow. Great video!
My father was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, and while the doctor covered most subjects, it was still good to get a great view on treatment options to let him live a full and healthy life.
What did you think of this video? We want to know if you found it useful, easy to understand or if you’d share it with a friend. Let us know in the comments below.