Treating Prostate Cancer
New Treatments
Complementary and Alternative Therapies
Questions for Your Doctor

Treating Prostate Cancer

There are a number of factors to consider when working together with your doctor or specialist
to choose your treatment:

• Your age
• The stage and grade of your cancer (i.e. how far the cancer has spread and how fast it is capable of growing)
• Your general health
• Your values and preferences

It is important to remember that some prostate cancer grows slowly. Unless your doctor tells you that your cancer is very aggressive, you can normally take the time to fully explore different treatment options and you may wish to request a second opinion.

Treatment refers to a proactive strategy, and it includes active surveillance. Active surveillance is used to monitor slow growing cancers through PSA blood tests, DRE’s, or Ultrasounds. If there is
a change in your results, your doctor will then talk to you about your options.

New Treatments

The most common treatments for prostate cancer are outlined on the other side of this pamphlet. However, there are always new treatments being developed.

One way to access new treatments before they become widely available is to participate in a clinical trial. A clinical trial is a research study that uses volunteers to determine whether or not a new treatment, drug or device is effective and safe.

Participating in a clinical trial is a valuable contribution to research but there is the risk of unknown side effects and there may also be additional costs involved in participating, e.g. frequent travel to the study site.

If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial you should talk to your doctor and make sure you understand all of the facts before making your decision.

For more information about clinical trials, please visit:

• clinicaltrials.gov
• canadiancancertrials.ca
• cancer.gov

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

Alternative therapies are those used in place of the conventional treatment options listed on the other side of this pamphlet. For example, using naturopathy or herbal medicine to treat your cancer instead of conventional care. Alternative therapies are considered scientifically unproven treatments.

While the terms are often used together, alternative therapy is different to complementary therapy. Complementary therapy is not used to treat cancer but is sometimes used together with conventional treatments to help manage treatment side-effects, or improve mental and physical wellbeing.

Before using any complementary or alternative therapies, talk to your doctor or other members of your healthcare team about all the possible risks and benefits.

Questions for Your Doctor

There are many considerations when it comes to  prostate cancer treatment and there will be a lot of information to take in during appointments. It is a good idea to bring a pen and paper to make notes and you may like to bring someone with you.

Your doctor will likely cover most, if not all, of the points in the checklist below. Ask your doctor to answer any of the questions that have not been covered in the appointment.

1. What are the risks if my cancer is not treated soon?
2. What treatment options might be right for me?
3. What are the major side-effects of the treatments available to me?
4. What are the chances I will have problems with incontinence, erectile dysfunction or rectal issues?
5. How would the various treatments affect my quality of life?
6. What is your experience with this treatment?
7. How frequent are complications?
8. What happens if the cancer spreads beyond my prostate?
9. When will my treatment begin and how long is it expected to last?
10. What if the first line of treatment doesn’t work?
11. How will I be monitored after treatment or during active surveillance?