Hi Jer4,
There are a number of common treatments for stage 2, 3, and 4 prostate
cancer. They include radiation therapy and androgen suppression
therapy (including Lupron). However, you should consider several
different surgical operations (including a radical prostatectomy),
chemotherapy, or get into one of the clinical trials for new
procedures like cryosurgery. Below are links to overviews of each of
your options, with a link to a way to get more information.
American Cancer Society: How is Prostate Cancer Treated?
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4X_How_is_prostate_cancer_treated_36.asp?rnav=cri
This site goes through the major options, with indication of when they
are used and the major side effects. There are also links on the page
to other topics in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.
National Cancer Institute: Prostate Cancer Treatment
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/prostate/Patient
This series of pages discusses treatment of prostate cancer by stage
(including a page on how to figure out your stage) for the patient.
This site links into various clinical trials for cryosurgery and
chemo/biotherapies as well. You can also view information targeted
for physicians by clicking the "Health Professional Version" tab just
below where it says "Prostate Cancer (PDQ): Treatment".
NIH SeniorHealth: Prostate Cancer Treatments and Research
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/prostatecancer/treatmentsandresearch/01.html
Again, a page with overviews of staging, treatment, and so on. This
one has the information broken out onto many pages like a slideshow,
rather than all on one page.
MedlinePlus Tutorial: Prostate Cancer
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/prostatecancer.html
This multimedia tutorial gives an overview of prostate cancer,
including diagnosis, staging, and treatment. You need the Flash
plugin to run the tutorial. If you don't have it on your computer you
will be prompted by the system to get it.
Clinical Trials.gov
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/action/FindCondition?ui=D011471&recruiting=true
This link will lead you to the trials for prostate cancer that are
currently recruiting patients. You can narrow the search to find ones
in your area and for specific types of treatment (if you need help
with that, just let me know).
These sites were all available from the MedlinePlus Health Topic for
prostate cancer (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/prostatecancer.html).
MedlinePlus is a service of the National Library of Medicine that
collects and organizes websites from health organizations in the US
government and nonprofit community.
I undrstand that this can be very frustrating and that you really want
a firm answer on what to do. I am not a doctor, and can't give
medical advice. I suggest that you take a careful look at the first
two links above, in particular, and go to your doctor with specific
questions about treatments that you think may work for you. Please
let me know if I can help you further with this question (before you
rate, if possible)!
Librariankt |
