Prostate Cancer Advanced

What is advanced Prostate Cancer? Is it a matter of concern? How can it be treated? What is the life expectancy at this stage? Millions of questions come to a person’s mind when an oncologist says that he is detected with ‘Prostate Cancer advanced’. This article tries to answer a few of those questions, which hover in a person’s mind who is suffering from the disease.
What is advanced Prostate Cancer?

It is a stage where the Prostate Cancer has broken through the boundaries and the surroundings of the prostate gland and has reached the outer parts of the body. In this stage, the cancer is spread in areas like the bones and the lymph nodes. It can either spread to the pelvic region where the cancer stage is clinically known as N+ or it may go to the other areas and different organs where the stage is referred as M+. Irrespective of the fact whether the stage is a N+ stage or M+ stage, the consequences are severe and the scope of treatment decrease drastically. A combination of different treatment approaches is then applied to the cancerous tissues but the life expectancy at this stage registers a remarkable fall.

How can it be treated?

As far as the treatment of Prostate Cancer in the advanced stages is concerned, the scope is limited only to the slowing down the pace of the spreading cancer. The basic aim remains focused on augmenting the life expectancy of the patient as far as possible. It cannot be cured and thus, end is inevitable. That may sound a bit rude or harsh but a truth supported by advanced medical science just cannot be discarded to be smashed and thrown away in a waste bin! It also aims at giving moral support to the patient so that he can live his life with a cheerful state of mind. Studies show that in the advanced stages of Prostate Cancer, the cells affected by the cancer require testosterone, a male hormone for their growth. What does that mean? This peculiar behavior of the cancerous cells defines the type of treatment to be used. Hormone therapy is used for treating the Prostate Cancer at this stage. In hormone therapy, drugs are applied to reduce the level of testosterone. Alternately, these drugs can also be applied to stop the testosterone action and other organs. Even removal of the testicles is another plausible treatment because the testicles are known to produce 95% of testosterone hormone.

Sometimes, even hormone treatment as a standalone therapy fails and requires help from radiation therapy and chemotherapy. This stage of Prostate Cancer is therefore a real matter of concern!