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Prostate Cancer Treatment

When prostate cancer is diagnosed in the early stages, there are many options for treatment and cure. The American Urological Association is an excellent source for detailed information on treatment options.

Active Surveillance:  Many men with prostate cancer will die from causes other than prostate cancer. If you have been diagnosed with a very early stage of disease, your doctor may recommend active surveillance or watchful waiting. The goal is to closely follow the disease’s progression with the option of electing active treatment if the disease becomes aggressive or begins to grow.

Cryotherapy: This option involves the controlled freezing of the prostate gland in order to destroy cancerous cells. Special needles are placed into the prostate under the guidance of ultrasound. Argon gas is then used to create an "iceball" which results in cell death within the predefined area.

Radiation
There are two forms of radiation therapy:
BRACHYTHERAPY is the implantation of radioactive seeds directly into the prostate. The seeds are delivered into the prostate using needles that are inserted under ultrasound guidance. Wake Forest Baptist has one of a few Digital Integrated Brachytherapy (IBU) Units in the U.S. With this technology, all aspects of treatment are provided in a single, shielded room.
EXTERNAL BEAM RADIOTHERAPY delivers small amounts of radiation in daily increments to the prostate, over a period of weeks. Wake Forest Baptist offers the latest technology for delivering this therapy – a combination approach that focuses radiation on the tumor and surrounding at-risk tissues while sparing nearby normal tissues.

Robot-assisted Prostate Cancer Surgery
Because the prostate gland is in a delicate location just below the bladder and is surrounded by nerves important for sexual function, its removal requires a high-precision surgery. Learn more about minimally invasive prostate cancer surgery.