5 Questions You Should Ask Your Doctor About Your Prostate Cancer

When a man has been diagnosed with Prostate cancer, he can become overwhelmed with feelings and emotions. This is a difficult time, and a difficult thing to have to face. Although you might not even want to deal with anything right now, you should ask your doctor these 5 questions about your Prostate cancer. They will help you decide what type of treatment is best and where to proceed to.

1.) How likely is it that my cancer has spread outside of my prostate? If it has, is it curable? This is an important question in determining what kind of surgery to have when removing your prostate gland. If your doctor is fairly sure that the cancer has not spread, you could have the quicker Perineal Prostatectomy surgery rather than the Retropubic Prostatectomy surgery.

2.) What is the Gleason score (grade) of my cancer, and what does this mean in my particular case? The Gleason score is a type of measurement which your doctor uses to see how advanced the cancer is, and how likely it is to be outside of your prostate gland.

3.) Would you suggest that I go through a Prostatectomy or Radiation therapy? Why? Your doctor can make an educated guess about which treatment option will work best for you. Although he may not know exactly what will work, and even if it will work for sure, he is experienced in Prostate cancer, and his recommendation shouldn’t be taken lightly.

4.) If you recommend surgery, will it be nerve sparing? ‘Nerve sparing’ means that during the surgery, your doctor will not remove the two sets of nerves that run along either side of the prostate gland. They govern erections, and if the cancer has spread to them, they will have to be removed. This will mean that you are not able to achieve erection. With some surgeries, your doctor can spare the nerves, and if they’re not cancerous, you will be able to keep from being impotent.

5.) With the treatment you suggest, what are the side effects or risks that I may have to face? Finding out what the side effects or complications may be can help prepare you for what you have to face. It can also better prepare you for the best way to care for any complications or side effects. You can begin researching them now so that you will have all the information you need.

You should never hesitate to ask your physician or specialist about anything that you don’t feel you fully understand, or about procedures and side effects for treatments. If your doctor seems as though he or she doesn’t want to answer questions or discuss your treatment options, you should probably consider seeing a different doctor. When you are going through something like prostate cancer, your health care provider can make all the difference in the world. Use the questions above to become better informed about your condition, and to help you decide what to do next.