Men living with prostate cancer have several treatment options available to them, the best of which will depend on how fast the tumor is growing and its spread.
Your doctor may suggest watchful waiting if your tumor is small and hasn’t grown quickly, or suggest radiation therapy that specifically targets only your prostate or surgery to remove it. They might also use hormone therapy to block cancer cells from receiving enough male sex hormones in order for them to grow.
Holistic treatments
Men with prostate cancer can choose among three treatments for their condition – surgery to remove their prostate gland, radiation therapy or hormone therapy. The optimal choice depends on factors like tumor type and stage, age and spread of cancer; also taken into consideration are any adverse side effects such as erectile dysfunction or urinary incontinence that might arise as side effects of treatment.
Some holistic treatments may help ease the side effects of medical treatments and enhance overall quality of life. Acupuncture, meditation and herbs can all provide benefits that include managing symptoms and emotions while relieving stress. But before trying any unconventional approaches, be sure to discuss them with your doctor so they can advise if they’re safe and likely to work for you.
Traditional doctors frequently combine holistic and standard cancer care treatments in order to provide comprehensive care. For instance, they might recommend a special diet in order to manage side effects like diarrhea and nausea as well as massage therapy as relaxation techniques. They might even suggest herbal remedies proven effective against prostate cancer.
Example: they might suggest taking selenium to strengthen your immune system and fight prostate cancer, while other herbs can strengthen the body and lessen radiation or chemotherapy effects. You can find these herbs in foods like green tea and other foods as supplements; or take them directly as oral doses.
Acupuncture is another holistic treatment option available to cancer patients that can relieve pain and nausea associated with cancer treatments, while at the same time decreasing anxiety associated with prostate cancer diagnosis and treatments. A trained practitioner licensed by your state typically performs the acupuncture.
Many men with prostate cancer opt for complementary therapies as a means of dealing with its side effects, including diet supplements, herbal treatments and exercise. Complementary therapies may also help ease depression and anxiety; many of which have limited scientific support so it’s wise to consult your healthcare team about your options before making your choice.
Massage therapy
Many men with prostate cancer use complementary treatments in combination with standard medical care to relieve pain and discomfort, including acupuncture, meditation, yoga and tai chi. Such practices can reduce stress levels while improving quality of life – sometimes they even help treat other health conditions, like high blood pressure or depression.
Some forms of massage have been shown to alleviate symptoms associated with prostate cancer, including fatigue and pain. Before initiating any alternative therapies such as prostate massage or other forms of physical therapy, however, be sure to discuss them with your physician first and consider the type of massage as some can be too harsh on the prostate and lead to infection.
One of the primary ways of treating prostate cancer is with surgery or radiation therapy. For locally located tumors, focal therapy may provide an alternate, less invasive option that specifically removes only those parts affected by cancer – thus minimizing risks such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence that might arise with more invasive procedures like radical prostatectomy.
Other prostate cancer therapies involve using drugs that prevent the prostate from producing testosterone, known as GnRH antagonists, orally and combined with hormone therapy; this combination approach has proven more successful than either treatment alone.
There are also medications that can be injected intravenously, intramuscularly, or subcutaneously to address an imbalance of male hormones. Such injections may be combined with hormone replacement therapy as a preventative measure.
The prostate gland is a small organ responsible for producing seminal fluid and aiding in the expulsion of sperm during ejaculation. A prostate massage may provide comfort from issues associated with erectile dysfunction, painful urination or bladder inflammation.
Although prostate massage can be helpful, it should be remembered that peer-reviewed studies do not support its efficacy for most men with prostate issues. Furthermore, massage should not be seen as a means to treat chronic prostatitis (CPPS); rather an appropriate diet high in fresh fruits, vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids will provide much-needed support in managing such conditions.
High-intensity focused ultrasound
HIFU uses high-frequency ultrasound energy to heat and destroy cancer cells in your prostate, in a noninvasive outpatient procedure. A probe is placed into your back passage (rectum), emitting an ultrasonic beam targeted directly to your prostate gland without impacting other parts of the body such as nerves or muscles responsible for controlling erections and urine flow. HIFU may be suitable if cancer hasn’t spread beyond your prostate and you’d prefer not to undergo surgery or radiotherapy treatments.
At this stage, you may either be awake or slightly sedated during the procedure. Your healthcare provider will use MRI or ultrasound imaging to locate the precise area they’re treating before placing a small disc-shaped probe directly over it or adjacently on your skin to deliver ultrasound energy bursts and stop tissue from growing back again. An indwelling catheter will need to be put in at the beginning to drain urine out of your bladder – and keep it there for at least 7 days following each procedure.
Your doctor will provide instructions regarding how to care for and use your catheter at home. They’ll also inform you when it’s time for another HIFU session.
MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is another form of focused ultrasound used to destroy tumours or abnormal tissues within your body. The technique uses an ultrasound machine connected with an MR scanner in order to guide its probe, giving doctors clear visibility into your tumour for easier treatment.
UCLA Urology was one of the first centers to offer MR-guided HIFU for prostate cancer treatment. This technology uses both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and real-time ultrasound imaging to visualize your prostate and target only diseased tissue without damaging surrounding areas, speeding recovery time and decreasing side effects such as erectile dysfunction or urinary incontinence.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy utilizes your immune system’s disease-fighting capacity to fight cancer. Cancer cells tend to contain proteins that conceal them from immune system cells; immunotherapy aims at making these cancer cells visible to immune system cells so they can attack.
Immunotherapy treatments for prostate cancer come in various forms; your cancer specialist will discuss which ones would work best for you.
Your doctor may need to conduct tests on some of your cancer cells or blood, in order to gauge whether immunotherapy treatments will be successful; though this isn’t always necessary, it does occasionally happen.
Immunotherapy treatments include vaccines designed to trigger your immune system against prostate cancer and help it fight it more aggressively, such as hormone therapy. While it remains unknown whether immunotherapy actually cures or stops cancer altogether, immunotherapy vaccines could prevent its further spread within the body or even completely stop cancer from returning in later years.
Checkpoint inhibitors are another form of immunotherapy medication, administered through intravenous or oral administration and working by blocking proteins used by cancer cells to evade your immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors can also reduce the number of cancer cells that grow and spread.
Radiation therapy can use high-energy rays to kill cancerous cells by radiating them with high energy rays from either outside your body (external beam radiation) or inside it (brachytherapy). Your doctor may perform special surgery that implants small radioactive seeds inside or near cancer cells so as to heat or freeze them away, killing off cancer cells with heat or by freezing.
Chemotherapy drugs may help shrink or kill cancer cells that have spread throughout your body. You can take these oral or intravenous, with or without radiation therapy to increase the chances of complete elimination of cancer.
Some prostate cancer patients turn to alternative therapies like acupuncture and herbal remedies as part of their cancer treatments, although these don’t fall under standard cancer care protocols. If taking other medications or having any other health conditions, speak to your physician before making any decisions regarding supplements or complementary therapies.
