7 Things to Know About Advanced Prostate Cancer

Get the Facts

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, you probably have a lot of questions. Here are seven facts you should know about this disease.

1. Stages Indicate the Cancer’s Spread

Advanced prostate cancer is also known as stage III or stage IV. Stage III prostate cancer means the tumor has spread beyond the prostate, often into one of the seminal vesicles, but there’s no cancer in surrounding lymph nodes. With stage IV, the tumor may have spread to lymph nodes, nearby sites such as the bladder, or other areas of the body.

2. Radiation Therapy May Help

Radiation therapy kills cancer cells, often using either high-energy rays outside the body or radioactive materials placed inside the body in or near the prostate. If you have advanced prostate cancer, radiation therapy may help reduce bone pain.

3. Chemotherapy Can Be Used

Chemotherapy involves drugs that health care providers administer intravenously to wipe out cancer cells. However, it may also harm your normal, healthy cells. Your cancer team will determine which type of chemotherapy may work best for the type of prostate cancer you have.

4. Hormone Therapy Is Another Option

Male hormones like testosterone fuel prostate cancer growth. Hormone therapy is designed to prevent male hormones from getting to prostate cancer cells. There are several kinds of hormone therapies, including medications and surgery. Ask your doctor which may be best for you.

5. Immunotherapy May Be Recommended

If hormone therapy doesn’t help or isn’t appropriate for you, immunotherapy may be an option. It stimulates your immune system to kill cancer cells. When used to treat prostate cancer, immunotherapy involves using your own blood cells as part of your treatment. Healthcare providers treat you with a series of three injections during the course of a few weeks.

6. Treatments Cause Side Effects

Although treatments for advanced prostate cancer can help destroy cancer cells, they can also cause unpleasant and difficult side effects. Some occur only during treatment, while others may remain longer or be permanent. They can include hair loss, skin sensitivity, erectile dysfunction, loss of sexual desire, fatigue, nausea, and more. Your doctor has effective solutions to minimize these symptoms. Always discuss possible side effects of any treatment with your doctor before initiating therapy and alert your healthcare team if new symptoms arise.

7. Help Is on the Horizon

Researchers are constantly working to develop new treatments for advanced prostate cancer. For example, doctors use the drug abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) with prednisone to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. The FDA has also approved enzalutamide (Xtandi) for men with advanced prostate cancer that’s hard to treat with chemotherapy and hormone therapy. You may be eligible to participate in an investigational clinical trial. Your doctor can tell you more.