The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that assists with the production and storage of sperm. It is located under the bladder and in front of the rectum. Prostate cancer appears most often in men older than fifty with the average age of diagnosis being seventy. Diagnosis generally occurs during a routine screening, a test that should be an annual procedure for men in the at risk age bracket.

Because many men will die of other disorders before their prostate cancer progresses, for many treating prostate cancer involves watchful waiting. There are, however, several forms of active prostatitis treatment. (The term prostatitis is used here for conditions involving cancer although the prostate can become irritated without cancer being present.)

Surgery, hormonal therapy, cryosurgery, radiation, and surgery may all be used singly or in concert as prostatitis treatment. A patient's age and overall health are always taken into consideration in treating prostate cancer. If the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, the prostatitis treatment options will be greatly effected.

A common prostatitis treatment is a prostatectomy. With either a radical retropubic or a radical perineal prostatectomy, the prostate gland is removed from the body. This is the most accepted prostatitis treatment in seventy percent of cases. These surgeries are most effective for cancers that have not spread beyond the prostate.

Radiation therapy employs x-rays to attack the cancer cells present in the prostate. This can be accomplished either with an external beam administered daily over a period of several weeks or by placing approximately one hundred seeds of radioactive material into the prostate. The latter procedure is called brachytherapy. These forms of treating prostate cancer are used most often in early forms of the disease and are also employed for men for whom surgery presents other health risks.

Cryosurgery does not normally require general anesthesia and so also presents less risk than a regular prostatectomy. By inserting metal rods into the prostate liquid nitrogen is used to freeze the tissue. A catheter of warm liquid protects the urethra during this procedure and thus this surgery tends to cause fewer problems with incontinence. The procedure does, however, cause impotence in ninety percent of cases.

Hormone prostatitis treatment works to block dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from reaching the cancer cells in the prostate. While this does not represent a cure, this method can stop the cancer cells from growing and potentially spreading beyond the prostate. It is also sometimes used in concert with other treatments to prevent the cancer from returning. There are several forms of hormone prostatitis treatment available.

The key to choosing watchful waiting as the response to prostate cancer is whether the cancer has spread beyond the prostate. Because many of the treatments cause incontinence and impotence, many men, in the absence of a fast growing cancer, opt to monitor the condition with frequent screenings. Given the age of most men diagnosed with prostate cancer, this option can often be followed without significant impact on the day to day health of the individual.