Treatment

If you’re one of the 1 in 6 American men diagnosed with prostate cancer, we know how concerning that can be. But at CHI Saint Joseph Health, you can count on the most effective treatments available to help conquer the condition and lead a longer, active life.

Learn more about our treatment options below. To request a referral to a prostate cancer specialist, call 844.303.9355 or find a urologist online.

Types of Treatment We Offer 

Treatment for prostate cancer depends on a variety of factors, including the type and stage of the cancer (early or advanced), as well as your age, overall health and personal preferences.

Your treatment plan may include one or a combination of the following:

Surgery

Surgery is the primary treatment for mostly younger men and many older men with early-stage cancer. The most common procedure is called radical prostatectomy, which removes the prostate gland and nearby lymph nodes.

The prostate's proximity to the urethra and genitals makes this procedure complicated, as the surgeon tries to avoid damage that can cause urinary or sexual problems. At CHI Saint Joseph Health, our surgeons specialize in da Vinci robotic prostatectomy for better precision, with less incision.

This highly sophisticated system uses magnified 3D HD vision and special instruments bend and rotate far greater than the human hand. This allows our surgeons unmatched control in removing the prostate while sparing surrounding nerves.

For patients, minimally invasive robotic prostatectomy offers a variety of benefits compared to traditional procedures, including:

• Better preservation of bladder control and erectile function
• Significantly less post-operative pain
• Less blood loss
• Fewer complications
• Less scarring
• A shorter hospital stay
• Faster return to normal activities

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high energy X-rays to shrink or kill cancer cells. Radiation may also be used to help prevent recurrence of disease. These brief, painless treatments can be specifically directed at the part of the body where the cancer is located. Treatments are delivered by linear accelerators, where patients lie on a table in a specially designed room.

Patients are often asked to undergo treatment with a full bladder, as this may lower the risk of side effects.

CHI Saint Joseph Health uses the most advanced technology available to target the tumor with extreme precision. Treatments include 3D conformal therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated radiation therapy (VMAT). Image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and use of a hexapod table ensure treatments are focused directly on the target, while minimizing dose to surrounding healthy tissue.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells with medicines delivered in varied cycles through either an IV or a pill. It may be used to shrink a tumor before surgery, to kill cancer cells that remain in the body after surgery or radiation or to treat tumors that have developed in other areas.

Chemo is not a standard treatment for early prostate cancer, but may be used if prostate cancer has spread outside the prostate. Recent studies have shown that newer chemo drugs can help men live a longer and higher quality of life.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone therapy works by reducing the body’s level of male hormones, called androgens, which prostate cancer cells need to grow. This treatment uses medications that inhibit the body's hormone production, or by surgically removing the testicles.

Hormone therapy may be used before radiation to try to shrink the cancer to make treatment more effective, after surgery or radiation if the cancer returns or if you can’t have traditional treatments for specific reasons.

Cryotherapy 

Also called cryosurgery or cryoablation, this technique uses very cold temperatures to freeze and kill prostate cancer cells. Cryotherapy is sometimes used to treat early-stage prostate cancer, or as an option if the cancer has returned after radiation therapy.

During the procedure, an ultra-thin probe is inserted into the prostate gland, then infuses freezing liquid to destroy cancerous areas. By using ultrasound as a guide, your surgeon can limit damage to healthy tissue.

Active Surveillance

If your prostate cancer is small, not expected to grow quickly and isn’t causing any symptoms, your doctor may recommend an approach called active surveillance, or watchful waiting. This means that instead of treatment (and potential side effects), the cancer will be monitored closely, with prostate cancer screenings and other tests done every few months. If your results change, or you start to experience symptoms, you may then begin a treatment plan.  

Active surveillance is often recommended for men who may not need treatment for prostate cancer, or for older men who have other serious health problems. Men who are young and healthy are less likely to be offered this approach, out of concern that the cancer might become a problem over the next 20 or 30 years.

Curative Treatment vs Palliative Treatment

Curative treatment, as the name implies, is treatment designed with the hope of curing the cancer. Palliative treatment is treatment that is not expected to cure the cancer but is expected to help the patient in some way, such as relieving pain or controlling the cancer as long as possible.

Radical prostatectomy is an example of curative treatment, as is definitive treatment of prostate cancer with external beam radiation therapy or brachytherapy. Examples of palliative treatment include the following:

• Treating a man with incurable prostate cancer with hormonal therapy to keep the cancer under control as long as possible.
• Using radiation therapy to treat a painful bone tumor that is the result of metastatic prostate cancer.