Prostate Cancer and Treatment

Your doctor takes your age into account because some prostate cancers grow very slowly. If you are older and your prostate cancer is not causing you any symptoms, you may live just as long without having active treatment. So you might be offered regular check ups instead. If you are older, you may have a normal life expectancy even though you have prostate cancer. Your cancer may be growing so slowly that it does not spread and need treatment.You may find it hard to wait and see like this. But it could be the right choice for you if the side effects from the treatment might be worse than the effects of the disease. This is particularly so if you have other health problems. If your cancer starts to cause symptoms you and your doctor can consider which treatment is best for you.
The PSA blood testMore and more prostate cancers are being diagnosed early from a PSA blood test. The PSA is a very reliable test for checking whether your cancer is growing quickly or slowly. So it is very useful in monitoring your cancer. There is more information about PSA testingin the 'Screening for prostate cancer' section of CancerHelp UK.
Decisions about treatmentIt is important for you and your doctor to talk through which would be the best treatment for you and your individual circumstances. This is particularly important if you are young enough for your prostate cancer to become life threatening, even if it is slow growing.

More details on treatment at http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=2856

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