Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Treatment
This is the last stage of prostate cancer and describes a tumor that has spread beyond the seminal vesicles to nearby tissues or organs, such as the bladder, rectum, lymph nodes or bones. At this point, treatment of the whole body with hormonal therapy or systemic therapy is the mainstay of stage 4 prostate cancer treatment. Local therapy with surgery or radiation therapy may be needed to help control symptoms. Proton radiation treatment may be used for advanced or late-stage prostate cancer to shrink tumors or control pain. While treatment can only cure a small percentage of T4 tumors, treatment may still be recommended to prolong or improve quality of life. For these distant stage cancers, the 5-year survival rate is 29%.
If Treatment Does Not Work
Recovery from cancer is not always possible. If the cancer cannot be cured or controlled, the disease may be called advanced or terminal.
This diagnosis is stressful, and for some people, advanced cancer may be difficult to discuss. However, it is important to have open and honest conversations with your health care team to express your feelings, preferences, and concerns. The health care team has special skills, experience, and knowledge to support patients and their families and is there to help. Making sure a person is physically comfortable, free from pain, and emotionally supported is extremely important.
People who have advanced cancer and who are expected to live less than 6 months may want to consider hospice care. Hospice care is designed to provide the best possible quality of life for people who are near the end of life. You and your family are encouraged to talk with the health care team about hospice care options, which include hospice care at home, a special hospice center, or other health care locations. Nursing care and special equipment, including a hospital bed, can make staying at home a workable option for many families. Learn more about advanced cancer care planning.
After the death of a loved one, many people need support to help them cope with the loss. Learn more about grief and loss.
What Is Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer develops in the prostatea small gland that makes seminal fluid. It is one of the most common types of cancer in men. Prostate cancer usually grows over time and, in the beginning, usually stays within the prostate gland, where it may not cause serious harm. While some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or no treatment, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly.
Prostate cancer that is caught early has a better chance of successful treatment.
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What Does It Mean To Have A Gleason Score Of 6 Or 7 Or 8
The lowest Gleason Score of a cancer found on a prostate biopsy is 6. These cancers may be called well-differentiated or low-grade and are likely to be less aggressive they tend to grow and spread slowly.
Cancers with Gleason Scores of 8 to 10 may be called poorly differentiated or high grade. These cancers tend to be aggressive, meaning they are likely to grow and spread more quickly.
Cancers with a Gleason Score of 7 may be called moderately differentiated or intermediate grade. The rate at which they grow and spread tends to be in between the other 2.
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Risk Groups For Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is divided into risk groups.
Before planning your treatment, your cancer doctor will look closely at your risk group. This helps you and your doctors to decide on the best treatment for you. The treatment options for each risk group can be different.
Prostate cancer was previously grouped into low, intermediate or high risk groups. Doctors now use a more detailed system to work out your risk group. This is called the Cambridge Prognostic Group . It divides prostate cancer risk into 5 different groups. Your doctor may still describe your risk as low, moderate or high.
To work out your CPG risk group, your doctors look at:
- the stage of the cancer
- your Gleason score.
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Active Surveillance And Watchful Waiting
If prostate cancer is in an early stage, is growing slowly, and treating the cancer would cause more problems than the disease itself, a doctor may recommend active surveillance or watchful waiting.
Active surveillance. Prostate cancer treatments may seriously affect a person’s quality of life. These treatments can cause side effects, such as erectile dysfunction, which is when someone is unable to get and maintain an erection, and incontinence, which is when a person cannot control their urine flow or bowel function. In addition, many prostate cancers grow slowly and cause no symptoms or problems. For this reason, many people may consider delaying cancer treatment rather than starting treatment right away. This is called active surveillance. During active surveillance, the cancer is closely monitored for signs that it is worsening. If the cancer is found to be worsening, treatment will begin.
ASCO encourages the following testing schedule for active surveillance:
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A PSA test every 3 to 6 months
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A DRE at least once every year
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Another prostate biopsy within 6 to 12 months, then a biopsy at least every 2 to 5 years
Treatment should begin if the results of the tests done during active surveillance show signs of the cancer becoming more aggressive or spreading, if the cancer causes pain, or if the cancer blocks the urinary tract.
Why Alanis Morissette Dropped Out Of Last Weekend’s Rock And Hall Of Fame Ceremony: Hollywood Has Been Notorious For Its Disrespect Of The Feminine
Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course, we are no different, Taylor wrote in his letter. So I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have, and this exceptional accolade.
Taylor said in his letter that he had recently suffered a setback, and acknowledged that while his condition is not immediately life-threatening, there is no cure.
Despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally, I would be pushing my boundaries, the letter read. However, none of this needs to or should detract from what this band has achieved and sustained for 44 years.
Taylor was a member of Duran Duran from 1980 to 1986, and again from 2001 to 2006. He played guitar on the bands first three albums, which included the hit songs Rio and Hungry Like the Wolf.
Weve had a privileged life, we were a bit naughty but really nice, a bit shirty but very well dressed, a bit full of ourselves because we had a lot to give, but as Ive said many times, when you feel that collective, instinctive, kindred spirit of creativity mixed with ambition, armed with an über cool bunch of fans, well what could possibly go wrong? Taylor said in his letter.
Bandmates Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Le Bon were present at the event. Taylor is not related to John or Roger.
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What Is The Difference Between Prostate Cancer And Advanced Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer occurs when cells in the prostate gland begin to grow out of control. In the early stages of prostate cancer, the cancer cells are only present in the prostate and have not spread to nearby tissues.
Advanced prostate cancer, also known as stage 4 prostate cancer, occurs when cancer cells have spread to other areas of the body.
Prostate Cancer Survival Rates: What They Mean
As cancer diagnoses go, prostate cancer is often a less serious one. Prostate cancer is frequently slow-growing and slow to spread. For many men, prostate cancer is less serious than their other medical conditions.
For these reasons, and possibly because of earlier detection of low-grade prostate cancers, prostate cancer has one of the highest survival rates of any type of cancer. WebMD takes a look at prostate cancer survival rates and what they mean to you.
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How Will My Cancer Be Monitored
Your doctor will talk to you about how often you should have check-ups. At some hospitals, you may not have many appointments at the hospital itself. Instead, you may talk to your doctor or nurse over the telephone. You might hear this called self-management.
You will have regular PSA tests. This is often a useful way to check how well your treatment is working. Youll also have regular blood tests to see whether your cancer is affecting other parts of your body, such as your liver, kidneys or bones.
You might have more scans to see how your cancer is responding to treatment and whether your cancer is spreading.
Your doctor or nurse will also ask you how youre feeling and if you have any symptoms, such as pain or tiredness. This will help them understand how youre responding to treatment and how to manage any symptoms. Let them know if you have any side effects from your treatment. There are usually ways to manage these.
Where Do These Numbers Come From
The American Cancer Society relies on information from the SEER database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute , to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer.
The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for prostate cancer in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by AJCC TNM stages . Instead it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages.
- Localized: There is no sign that the cancer has spread outside the prostate.
- Regional: The cancer has spread outside the prostate to nearby structures or lymph nodes.
- Distant: The cancer has spread to parts of the body farther from the prostate, such as the lungs, liver, or bones.
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What Is Intermittent Adt
Researchers have investigated whether a technique called intermittent androgen deprivation can delay the development of hormone resistance. With intermittent androgen deprivation, hormone therapy is given in cycles with breaks between drug administrations, rather than continuously. An additional potential benefit of this approach is that the temporary break from the side effects of hormone therapy may improve a mans quality of life.
Randomized clinical trials have shown similar overall survival with continuous ADT or intermittent ADT among men with metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, with a reduction in some side effects for intermittent ADT .
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Staging Spread And Survival Rates
As with all cancers, doctors use the term stage to describe the characteristics of the primary tumor itself, such as its size and how far prostate cancer has spread when it is found.
Staging systems are complicated. The staging system for most cancers, including prostate cancer, uses three different aspects of tumor growth and spread. It’s called the TNM system, for tumor, nodes, and metastasis:
- T, for tumor describes the size of the main area of prostate cancer.
- N, for nodes, describes whether prostate cancer has spread to any lymph nodes, and how many and in what locations.
- M, for metastasis, means distant spread of prostate cancer, for example, to the bones or liver.
Using the TNM system, each man’s prostate cancer can be described in detail and compared to other men’s prostate cancer. Doctors use this information for studies and to decide on treatments.
As far as survival rates for prostate cancer go, however, the staging system is pretty simple. As we’ve mentioned, in terms of survival rates, men with prostate cancer can be divided into two groups:
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What Happens If My Cancer Starts To Grow Again
Your first treatment may help keep your cancer under control. But over time, the cancer may change and it may start to grow again.
You will usually stay on your first type of hormone therapy, even if its not working so well. This is because it will still help to keep the amount of testosterone in your body low. But there are other treatments that you can have alongside your usual treatment, to help control the cancer and manage any symptoms. Other treatments include:
Which treatments are suitable for me?
Which treatments are suitable for you will depend on many things, including your general health, how your cancer responds to treatment, and which treatments youve already had. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your own situation, or speak to our Specialist Nurses.
Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer
If the cancer has reached an advanced stage, its no longer possible to cure it. But it may be possible to slow its progression, prolong your life and relieve symptoms.
Treatment options include:
- hormone treatment
If the cancer has spread to your bones, medicines called bisphosphonates may be used. Bisphosphonates help reduce bone pain and bone loss.
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Stage 3 Prostate Cancer Prognosis
A cancer is also staged so that a physician can give a prognosis. The term ‘prognosis’ refers to the likely outcome of the disease.
A reliable prognosis for stage 3 prostate cancer cannot be given. However, with treatment the prognosis is usually good. Factors such as the patients overall health, their Gleason and PSA* score can also influence the course of this disease.*A higher level of prostate-specific antigen may indicate prostate cancer.
The National Cancer Institute survival statistics show that the 5 year survival rate for regional stage prostate cancer is almost 100%.
The NCI use a different staging system to the AJCC TNM system cancers are grouped into categories of ‘local’, ‘regional’ and ‘distant’.
Stage 3 prostate cancer falls into the ‘regional’ group this system also shows that 5 year survivability of stage 3 prostate cancer is almost 100%. This is a similar figure to Stage 1 and Stage 2 prostate cancer.
Diagnosing Stage 3 Prostate Cancer
A diagnosis of stage 3 prostate cancer is normally given after a number of tests have been taken. This tests determine the course or spread of this disease. One or a combination tests are taken which can include imaging studies, surgical specimen and physical examination.
The results from these tests indicate the extent to which the disease has progressed the physician may then use two recognized staging systems, TNM & Whitmore-Jewett, to stage the prostate cancer.
The ‘TNM’ staging system is a popular system used to stage prostate cancer. The initials of this system represent:
- T – primary tumor : the size, spread and location of the tumor
- N – lymph nodes: have the lymph nodes been invaded by cancer?
- M – metastasis: has the cancer ‘metastasized’ and spread to other areas of the body?
Each category of this system, T, N & M, have subcategories used to grade the extent to which that category is affected.
As stage 3 prostate cancer extends through the prostate capsule it is classed as T3 a sub stage category, a or b, can also be applied.
Using the TNM staging system, Stage 3 prostate cancer can be:
T3a – cancer in the prostate has extended through the prostate cover no other areas are affected.
T3b – cancer has extended through the prostate cover and has invaded the seminal vesicles no other areas are affected. ).
Using the Whitmore-Jewett System, Stage 3/Stage C prostate cancer is either:
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Is Stage 3 Cancer Terminal
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How Would I Treat Stage 4 Prostate Cancer
- I would stop all the foods that cause cancer, and stop using all the household and bodycare products that leach toxins into the body.
- I would change to those foods that resonate with my body through personal testing as I describe in my book.
- I would only eat fresh organic foods, grains, nuts and seeds properly prepared and soaked to reduce the phytic acid cooked nourishing broths and meats from grass-fed and pastured animals and eat raw, unpasteurized dairy and eggs which have a completely different profile than conventional cancer-causing, factory-farmed and produced foods which are loaded with toxins.
- I would stop all harmful foods listed on this site and in my book. For end stage prostate cancer, I would stop all sugar and its substitutes. Why? They feed the cancer.
- I would undergo cleansing short fasts with freshly made vegetable juices if personally tested Yes. I would do a liver flush, or many, to rid the body of major toxins quickly and easily.
- I would ensure that if couldnt get adequate sun on my skin, I would at least take an adequate dosage of Vitamin D3 levels.
- I would take aloe vera juice each day and test for which supplements my body needed like zinc and magnesium.
And more
End stage prostate cancer could then no longer find a host in my body for I would have changed the conditions that I either knowingly or unknowingly created that led to it.
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How Prostate Cancer Is Diagnosed And Staged
Cancer staging helps you and your doctor understand how advanced your cancer is and how much it has spread at the time of diagnosis. Knowing your cancer stage also helps your doctor determine the best treatment options for you and estimate your chance of survival.
The most widely used staging system for cancer is the American Joint Committee on Cancers TNM system that classifies cancer from stage 1 to stage 4.
TNM stands for:
- Tumor: the size and extent of the tumor
- Nodes: the number or extent of nearby lymph node involvement
- Metastasis: whether cancer has spread to distant sites in the body
The TNM scale is used for many types of cancer. When a doctor uses it to determine your prostate cancer stage, theyll consider several other factors as well, including: