Watchful waiting as a treatment for prostate cancer options
If, like a growing number of men who have been having regular prostate exams, which has collected the possibility of prostate cancer, which was later confirmed with a biopsy, then they are probably lucky to have caught the cancer early, when it is still confined to the prostate, and in what is called phase I or phase II. If this is the case, then a possible course of treatment may be 'watchful waiting'. Some people feel it is a bit strange to call watchful waiting a form of treatment because, as the name suggests, just about cancer and wait to see what happens. Other names for this approach are "observation" and "monitoring". So when is the right approach? While her cancer is confined to the prostate they are generally quite safe and not until it threatens to spread beyond the prostate that your doctor will become concerned.
So, if like many cases of prostate cancer cancer is both confined to the prostate gland and growing very slowly there is no need for immediate action and often safe to just take some time and see how it develops.Now if you are getting in this year and expectant situation may well be a very good choice, because if the cancer is growing slowly enough there is a good chance that you will die of old age, or some another condition, before it becomes a problem. In these circumstances, you may also feel that it would be foolish to get through surgery or radiotherapy for little or no real benefit. Therefore, in this case, you would need to visit your doctor regularly for him to keep an eye on things and not do anything at all unless a problem arises.If But you are still quite young, and otherwise fit man then watchful waiting could again be a sensible approach for a while, but it's not always a good idea in the long run, especially since, despite their cancer may be growing very slowly, you still is reducing its control of the larger disease cancer develops and this can cause a problem as long as you are forced to deal with prostate cancer it.
Dealing either by surgery or radiation treatment is best done when the cancer is small and when it is in the best position to deal with treatment and recovery. The older you get the more likely complications will arise from treatment or you will have difficulty in recovering after treatment.Another very important consideration is how to deal with mentally watchful waiting. For some men just sit and do nothing knowing that they have a cancer growing in his prostate gland can be very stressful indeed. However, for men who have cancer do not mind at all as long as you know that is growing, confined and is overseeing the slow end regularly.At day should clearly be guided by your doctor, but if you choose to live with prostate cancer or to seek treatment for what is, and always should be, largely a personal decision
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