Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatment

No known treatment for prostate cancer is free of side effects. This makes selecting a form of treatment very difficult for men diagnosed with this disease. The best advice is to take some time to research all treatments, talk to both doctors and patient support groups, and get second opinions from doctors who approach the problem with different treatments. In other words, patients often find that urologists will recommend prostate removal, radiation oncologists will recommend radiation, and so forth.

Radiaton Therapy

• Radiation to kill cancer cells in the prostate can cause damage to the rectum, bladder and urethra. Scarring in the urethra can cause a stricture leading to later urination problems. Other bowel effects include diarrhea, obstructions, fistulas or perforation. Bladder and urethral potential problems include cystitis, proctitis or urethritis. There may be incontinence, but this is less likely with radiation. There also may be effects on sexual abilities.

Prostatectomy

• The most common effects are incontinence and impotence. Deep vein thrombosis can happen if the legs are not treated properly during surgery. This could lead to an embolism or heart attack. Because a new connection has to be made between the urethra and the bladder, which is called an anastomosis, complications can arise in this area, particular if after operation care is lacking or the patient doesn't avoid activities like riding a bicycle or similar exercise for long enough after surgery.

Androgen Deprivation

• Androgen deprivation is a chemical form of orchiectomy (castration). Completely destroying the body's ability to make testosterone can lead to serious quality of life issues. The most common side effect of this treatment is bone loss. Later results of bone loss can be fractures, bone pain and a loss of height. Other effects are decreased libido and impotence, which happens in almost all cases.

Cryotherapy

• Freezing of the prostate gland can cause rectal pain, urinary tract infections, incontinence, impotence, hematuria (bloody urine) or scrotal edema (swelling). Urethral strictures may be caused from the dead tissue resulting from the freezing. A fistula (channel) may form between the urethra and the rectum, causing urinary tract infection or diarrhea.

Watchful Waiting

• Not all prostate cancers are aggressive. Many are so slow growing that patients may die from other causes long before the prostate cancer is a problem. If the cancer is documented as a slow-growing one and confined to the prostate alone, this option can make sense. It does require regular monitoring of the PSA (prostate specific antigen) level and calculations of the rate of change over time.