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If your prostate cancer is confined to the gland, or localized (Stage I or II/low Gleason score), you are a good candidate for treatments that can result in long-term survival. There are three main approaches to managing localized prostate cancer: watchful waiting, surgery, and radiation therapy.

Watchful Waiting

Watchful waiting is based on the premise that cases of localized prostate cancers may advance so slowly that they are unlikely to cause men -especially older men-any problems during their lifetimes. Some men who opt for watchful waiting, also known as "observation" or "surveillance," have no active treatment unless symptoms appear. They are often asked to schedule regular medical checkups and to report any new symptoms regarding prostate cancer to the doctor immediately.

Surgery

A prostate cancer operation called radical prostatectomy completely removes the prostate and nearby tissues. A radical prostatectomy is further described in terms of the incisions used by the surgeon to reach the gland. In a retropubic prostatectomy, the prostate is reached through an incision in the lower abdomen; in a perineal prostatectomy, the approach is through the perineum, the space between the scrotum and the anus. In prostate cancer surgery called radical prostatectomy, the surgeon excises the entire prostate gland, along with both seminal vesicles, both ampullae (the enlarged lower sections of the vas deferens), and other surrounding tissues. The section of urethra that runs through the prostate is cut away (and with it some of the sphincter muscle that controls the flow of urine).

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy for combating prostate cancer uses high-energy x-rays, either beamed from a machine or emitted by radioactive seeds implanted in the prostate, to kill cancer cells. When prostate cancer is localized, radiation therapy serves as an alternative to surgery. External beam radiation therapy is also commonly used to treat men with regional disease, whose cancers have spread too widely in the pelvis to be removed surgically, but who have no evidence of spread to the lymph nodes. In men with advanced disease, radiation therapy can help to shrink tumors and relieve pain.

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