Four years ago, Santa gave me the worst Christmas present I'd ever received.
The day after the most joyous holiday of the year, my doctor called and
delivered the news that I had prostate cancer.
Because my dad had prostate cancer decades before, I had been going to a
urologist since I turned 40 to have a PSA [prostate-specific antigen test].
Recently, my PSA had shot up very high, to 29, and the following biopsy
confirmed that I had a highly aggressive tumor. At 50 years old, I faced the
A urologist, who specializes in problems with the urinary tract and male reproductive organs
Here are the stages of prostate cancer along with common treatment options.
The cancer is small, and it hasn't grown outside your prostate. Slow-growing cancers might never cause symptoms or other health problems.
In this stage, your PSA levels and Gleason scores are low, and that's good. When they're higher, your cancer is more aggressive. It’s also more likely to come back and require more intensive treatment.
The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test measures levels of this protein in your blood. Your doctor then determines your Gleason score by looking at prostate tissue cells under a microscope.
With stage I, you should consider the following treatment approaches:
Active surveillance. Your doctor tracks your PSA levels. If those levels rise, it might mean your cancer is growing or spreading. Your doctor can then change your treatment. He might also do tests like rectal exams and ultrasounds.
Watchful waiting. This involves fewer tests than active surveillance. Your doctor keeps a close watch on your symptoms. If you're an older man, or you have other serious health problems, your doctor might opt for this method.
Radiation therapy. This kills prostate cancer cells or keeps them from growing and dividing. There are two types of this treatment. The "external" kind uses a machine to aim a beam of radiation at your tumor. With "internal radiation," a doctor places radioactive pellets or seeds in or next to the tumor -- this procedure is also known as brachytherapy.
Radical prostatectomy. This is a surgery to remove your prostate and some of the surrounding tissue.
Ablation therapy. This treatment uses freezing or high-intensity ultrasound to kill cancer cells.