Some men that are diagnosed with prostate cancer are told by their physicians that nothing needs to be done now and they can delay treatment for prostate cancer.
While this may be true for some men, the recommendation is based on a diagnosis that may not be reliable.
Currently, men receive their prostate cancer diagnosis following a blood test, a biopsy, and other screening procedures. This not only tells their physician about the presence of prostate cancer, but it also indicates to the physician what stage the cancer has developed to.
When men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and they are considered low risk, this could mean the cancer is in an early stage, or the size or aggressiveness of the cancer is small.
While these men may be monitored a little more closely following their diagnosis, it is still dangerous to allow them to continue their daily lives without seeking a solution in the present.
Why Would a Doctor Recommend Delaying Prostate Cancer Treatment?
Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death in men however, it grows slowly so it can be monitored fairly easily.
Most physicians only know or recommend one treatment option: surgery.
However, in order to receive surgical treatment for prostate cancer, most doctors only recommend it for prostate cancers of a specific stage, size or aggressiveness.
Doctors will also consider if the cancer is causing any symptoms in the patient to determine if surgery should be scheduled. If a patient’s cancer does not meet the threshold, they may be told to wait.
These patients will be reviewed every 6 months to monitor the progression of their cancer.
Other patients, most commonly older men, have already been ruled out for surgery so their condition is only being observed to focus on controlling the symptoms rather than treating the cancer.
What Treatment Options Are Available for Early Stages Prostate Cancer?
When patients are told to “watch and wait,” they are told to give cancer the opportunity to grow. According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Cancer, more than half the men diagnosed with slow-growing cancer actually had a more aggressive disease.
Many doctors understand that prostate cancer treatment can have significant side effects such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence, so often avoiding intensive surgery or waiting until absolutely necessary is considered most beneficial to the patient.
However, thanks to innovations in radiation technology, there’s a successful prostate cancer treatment option to treat prostate cancer.
CyberKnife for Prostate Cancer
CyberKnife Radiosurgery is a minimally-invasive prostate cancer treatment that utilizes high-dose radiation therapy to eliminate prostate cancer cells.
This system is extremely beneficial to prostate cancer because it has missile-guided technology that can deliver radiation with pinpoint accuracy to the tumor without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.
CyberKnife also is a much faster treatment process, requiring only 2-to-5 treatment sessions compared to 42 required with traditional radiation therapy.
The availability of advanced, minimally-invasive treatments such as CyberKnife allows patients to get the treatment they need with a high chance of being cancer-free for the rest of their life.
To schedule an appointment or to learn more about our prostate cancer treatment, call CyberKnife Miami at (305) 279-2900 and go to our website now to learn more https://prostatecancertreatmentmiami.com/