Prostate cancer is a common diagnosis among men, but it can still be a life-altering event. However, it’s also extremely treatable in most cases, and there are many options for prostate cancer treatment near you that allow you to control the disease and get back to what matters.
Discover more about prostate cancer, including the most common types and treatments.
The Five Types of Prostate Cancer
Prostatic Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma is by far the most common type of prostate cancer, representing roughly 95 percent of cases each year, if not more. It can develop in the cells that line the prostate gland, as well as its tubes.
Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Prostate
This form of prostate cancer starts in the urethra or bladder and transitions to the prostate—which is where it gets its name. Because the bladder is directly above the prostate gland, transitional cell carcinoma can move between the two organs.
Sometimes, it can start in the prostate and spread to the bladder, but this is unusual.
Small Cell Prostate Cancer
Less than 2 percent of prostate cancers are diagnosed as small cell prostate cancer. It’s difficult to detect with traditional cancer screenings, is generally very aggressive, and comes with a poor prognosis. In turn, it typically requires aggressive treatments.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Prostate
Squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate is rare, representing a fraction of a percent of all prostate cancer diagnoses. However, it’s also very aggressive and tends to spread quickly, meaning it may require multiple lines of treatment and clinical trials.
Sarcoma of the Prostate
This type of prostate cancer is particularly rare, representing less than 0.1 percent of all prostate cancers. However, some documented cases from the National Library of Medicine only needed surgery to achieve remission. Little is otherwise known about this malignant type of prostate cancer, so studies are still ongoing.
Common Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
Surgery
For most people with prostate cancer, surgery is the first treatment their oncologist will recommend. This might involve a prostatectomy, which removes either a part of or the entire prostate gland. Your surgeon may also remove the lymph nodes around your prostate gland, depending on if your cancer has spread to other areas already.
Depending on your circumstances, you may also receive medications to manage pain and aid in your recovery after the surgery.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses medication to attack and destroy cancer cells. It’s most commonly used for aggressive or advanced types of prostate cancer. In many cases, your oncology team may give it to you either through an IV or as oral medications.
The goal of this therapy is to decrease the chance of cancer returning and stop it from spreading to other parts of the body. However, it does have some side effects. These often include fatigue, hair loss, and a temporary weakening of the immune system.
Targeted Therapy
Prostate cancer targeted therapy uses medication that targets the proteins on certain types of prostate cancer cells to destroy them or stop them from growing. This process is similar to chemotherapy, but only attacks cancer cells rather than all types of cells that divide quickly.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy for prostate cancer, or radiotherapy, uses X-rays, gamma rays, or other charged particles to kill cancer cells. Many prostate cancer patients receive radiotherapy from a machine that aims a beam of invisible radioactive rays at the prostate tumor, but some may also receive a radioactive “seed” that doctors insert into the prostate. Others might receive radiation therapy through a catheter placed in the prostate for a short time.
This radiation is painless, and it won’t make you radioactive after you finish a round of treatment, so it’s safe to be around others afterward.
Immunotherapy
Part of why prostate cancer is so hard to detect at first is that your immune system doesn’t recognize tumors as dangerous on its own. That’s where immunotherapy comes in for some patients.
Immunotherapy for prostate cancer generally uses two overarching treatments. The first includes vaccines that are comprised of the person’s own stimulated immune cells that have been trained to target the proteins found in prostate cancer. The second is checkpoint inhibitors that block certain proteins in your body from attaching to T cells, helping them recognize when to attack the prostate tumor cells.
The type of immunotherapy you receive depends on the results of your prostate cancer biopsy.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy for prostate cancer typically involves medicine or surgery to stop your body from producing the male hormones that allow prostate tumors to grow. It typically involves using either drugs or surgery to suppress the hormones and stop your tumor from growing. Some tumors may even begin to shrink without these hormones.
The specific types of hormone therapy drugs your doctor recommends depend on the type of prostate cancer you have. Some are given as injections or skin implants, while others come in pills.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Near You at CHC
No two prostate cancer patients’ situations are exactly alike. We know that all too well. That’s why at the Cancer & Hematology Centers, we treat every diagnosis as an individual case. Not only do we provide multiple types of treatment for prostate cancer, but we also offer cutting-edge procedures and clinical trials to set you on the path to recovery faster.
Learn More About Prostate Cancer Treatment in Michigan
Our team of oncologists and prostate cancer specialists is here to help you navigate your diagnosis and treatment. To learn more about prostate cancer treatment near you in West Michigan, call 800-411-7999 today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can Women Get Prostate Cancer?
Anyone with a prostate is at risk of developing prostate cancer.
Since women who are assigned female at birth don’t have a prostate, they are not at risk. However, transgender women who were assigned male at birth can get prostate cancer.
What Are the Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?
In some cases, prostate cancer doesn’t have any symptoms on its own, making screenings essential for anyone with normal or increased risks of developing it. However, these are some of the symptoms that may appear:
- Trouble urinating
- Urinating often, especially at night
- Pain or burning during urination
- Back, pelvic, or hip pain that doesn’t go away
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Painful ejaculation
It’s important to note that these symptoms aren’t exclusive to prostate cancer. Many other less severe conditions can cause these symptoms.
How Is Prostate Cancer Diagnosed?
Today, most prostate cancer screenings involve using a blood test called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. High levels of PSA can often indicate prostate cancer or other conditions that affect the prostate.
If your doctor determines you have high PSA levels, they may recommend a prostate biopsy. Your doctor will use the biopsy to find out if you have prostate cancer—and which type you have.
Is Prostate Cancer Deadly?
You, your family, and your healthcare team should take prostate cancer seriously because it can be deadly if left detected or untreated. In fact, without treatment, it could potentially spread to other areas of the body and become much harder to manage.
However, with treatment, prostate cancer’s survival rate is very high.