Prostate Cancer: Treatments By Stage

Once your doctor determines the stage of your prostate cancer, They can start mapping out a treatment plan. Stage is based on:

• The size of your tumor
• How far it has spread
• The chances of it coming back

Matching the right treatment with your stage isn’t always cut and dry. You might benefit from a combo of a few different approaches. Together, you and your doctor will decide on the best treatment.

There are three different doctors who might be involved in your care:

• A medical oncologist, who treats cancer
• A radiation oncologist, who also treats cancer
• A urologist, who specializes in problems with the urinary tract and male reproductive organs

Here are the stages of prostate cancer along with common treatment options.

Stage I

The cancer is small, and it hasn't grown outside your prostate. Slow-growing cancers might never cause symptoms or other health problems.

In this stage, your PSA levels and Gleason scores are low, and that's good. When they're higher, your cancer is more aggressive. It’s also more likely to come back and require more intensive treatment.

The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test measures levels of this protein in your blood. Your doctor then determines your Gleason score by looking at prostate tissue cells under a microscope.

With stage I, you should consider the following treatment approaches:

Stage II

The cancer is much larger, but it hasn’t spread outside your prostate. Your PSA levels and Gleason scores are also higher. Surgery or radiation is often needed to keep it from spreading.

With stage II, you should consider the following treatments:

Stage III

The cancer has spread beyond your prostate, but it hasn't reached your bladder, rectum, lymph nodes, or nearby organs.

With stage III, you should consider the following treatments:

Stage IV

This happens when your cancer has spread to the bladder, rectum, lymph nodes, organs, or bones. Cases of stage IV are rarely cured. Still, treatments can extend your life and ease your pain.

In this stage, you should consider the following treatments:

Clinical trials are testing new treatments. They can give you state-of-the-art cancer treatments or newer ones that aren’t available yet. Ask your doctor if a clinical trial might be right for you.

If Your Prostate Cancer Comes Back

If your cancer goes into remission but later returns, follow-up treatments will depend on where the cancer is located and which treatments you’ve already tried.

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