Prostate Cancer Stages: Be Informed
Prostate cancer stages are divided into 4 stages. The fewer the stages, the more curable it will be. That is why it is important for you to detect the disease early. The prognosis prostate cancer stages depend a lot on the progress of the disease. The doctor needs to take the test to consider in what stage the prostate cancer is. You should know that in prostate cancer, the cancerous cells grow in the prostate gland. It is locally there. However, in the next grades, the cancerous cells will spread to the other lymph nodes or even the other organs. This is considerably the chronic disease. The treatment will depend on the stage of the disease.
Early Stages of Prostate Cancer
In early prostate cancer stages, the cancerous cells are located in the prostate gland. These cells may be in the gland for years. This is the most curable stage. The prognosis prostate cancer stages early are better than the advanced ones. The treatment that is recommended is surgery. The surgery is meant to completely remove the cancerous cells, and even the whole prostate gland. Radiotherapy is also recommended in this stage. To determine the treatment, there are some factors that should be considered; like ages, lifestyle, and such. Keep in mind that each treatment has its own pros and cons. There are the side effects of each treatment too.
Advanced Stages of Prostate Cancer
The advanced prostate cancer stages are when the cancerous cells have spread to the other lymph nodes. This can be considered as the medium stage of prostate cancer. The last stage of prostate cancer is when the cancerous cells have widespread to the other organs. It travels through your blood to the other tissues. This is what is called as metastasis disease. In this case, it is impossible to have surgery since the cancerous cells are too many to remove. Chemotherapy is the recommended treatment.
Hormone therapy is also the treatment that is recommended in the last stage of prostate cancer. The hormone therapy is also combined with external beam radiation. Watchful waiting is also considered for those who show no symptoms or have the other serious medical conditions. Keep in mind that the metastasized cancer like this are not considered as the curable one. The treatments given are only meant to manage the cancerous cells, not kill them. The treatments will only be useful to prolong your survival time in the last prostate cancer stages.