Any cancer diagnosis can have a devastating effect on a person. If you are a man and you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, it can be especially scary. After all, you likely aren't sure what is going to happen from that point forward. Here are three things you need to know about your prostate cancer diagnosis.
1. The survival rate for prostate cancer averages out to be quite high.
One of the biggest questions men have when they are faced with a prostate cancer diagnosis is, "Will I survive this?" While every person's cancer story is different, the survival rate for prostate cancer is actually very high.
The average survival rate of men five years after their prostate cancer treatment is 100%. When it gets to the 10-year mark after treatment, the survival rate goes down to 99%. Once you get to the 15-year mark, the average survival rate goes down to 94%. As you can see, your chances of survival after successful treatment of your prostate cancer are very good.
Of course, the chances of survival also depends on if the prostate cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Doctors classify prostate cancer in three different stages:
- Local
- Regional
- Distant
If your prostate cancer is at the local stage, that means that there are no indicators that it has spread to other parts of the body. Regional stage prostate cancer means that it has spread to parts of the body very close to the prostate. However, if you have distant stage prostate cancer, it means that it has spread to parts of the body far away from the prostate.
Local and regional stage prostate cancers are highly treatable and have the same high survival rates for the five-year mark mentioned earlier. Distant stage prostate cancer, however, has a very low survival rate of 28%.
2. There are many treatment options available for prostate cancer.
Anytime people hear the word cancer, they automatically think about chemotherapy. The truth is that there are many different treatment options for prostate cancer. Some of the treatment options for prostate cancer include:
- Radiation therapy
- Hormone therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
If your prostate cancer hasn't spread to any other parts of the body, your doctor will likely suggest using radiation therapy first. Radiation therapy can be done from the outside of the body, or your doctor can put radiation implants directly into the prostate. The type of radiation therapy used will depend on what your doctor feels is best for your specific case.
If the prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the first course of action will likely be to start on hormone therapy. During hormone therapy, your production of testosterone and other androgens is stopped. This can prevent the cancer from growing any further.
However, if your cancer doesn't respond as well to the hormone therapy as your doctor hoped, you will likely be prescribed chemotherapy. But, doctors generally don't prescribe chemotherapy for early-stage prostate cancer. So, even though this type of treatment is usually what most people think of when they find out they have cancer, you may not have to experience it with your prostate cancer.
Another way to treat prostate cancer, if it hasn't spread to other parts of the body, is to completely remove the prostate gland. Though, because the surgery has several undesirable side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence, it is usually one of the last treatment options recommended. However, this surgery can cure a man of prostate cancer if the cancer hasn't spread beyond the prostate. For this reason, many men choose to live with the potential side effects from having the prostate taken out.
3. Understand that you don't have to deal with your cancer diagnosis alone.
Many men feel as if they can't confide in anyone how they feel about their prostate cancer diagnosis. However, seeking some type of counseling is recommended after you are diagnosed with cancer.
One such form of counseling can come from group therapy, where there are other men who have prostate cancer and men who have successfully beaten it. Not only can group therapy help you feel like you are not alone in your fight, but it can help you feel like there is hope for your prognosis.
You may also need to go through therapy to help with the side effects of your treatment. It can also be beneficial for your entire family to go through counseling so everyone understands what the prostate cancer diagnosis means and what they can expect during and after your treatment. Counseling can help all of you in ways that you don't expect after you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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