Do You Have To Have Prostate Cancer Treatment?
Having a cancer diagnosis delivered can be tough to deal with, especially if you feel like your doctor is pushing you to begin treatment immediately. Cancer treatment is necessary for many people with cancer to be able to survive, but that's not the case with every cancer. You may have heard that some men simply opt out of prostate cancer treatment and seem to do just fine. If you're wondering if you could be one of them, keep reading.
Why Some People Don't
All forms of cancer are dangerous to your overall well-being, including prostate cancer. However, there are some reasons why prostate cancer can be safely ignored by some people.
First off, prostate cancer doesn't metastasize as easily as some other cancers do. Some cancers more readily spread to surrounding tissues, including the lymph nodes. For most men, prostate cancer isn't one of them.
Secondly, prostate cancer tends to be slow-growing cancer. While some cancers can develop massive tumors in a matter of months, prostate cancer has a slower growth rate. Since this cancer tends to develop in older men, it may be that before the cancer has time to get dangerous, the man has already died.
Qualifications
No one likes to think about their own mortality, but it's necessary to look at the statistics for how long the average person lives.
According to a recent study, men diagnosed with prostate cancer between the ages of 61 and 74 were 40% more likely to die of something other than the prostate cancer. By age 75 and over, that rate increased even more, to 71%. In essence, the risk of dying from another cause is higher because most prostate cancers take so long to develop to get to the point of being dangerous. As a result, some older men choose to not have it treated since the side effects of chemo and radiation are difficult to cope with, and it wouldn't provide many benefits at their age.
Seek a Second Opinion
If you think your cancer is slow-growing enough to potentially not pose a risk to you, it's imperative that you seek a second opinion. Although your current doctor may be pushing you to have it treated, another doctor may not. They may be more willing to agree that you're more likely to suffer needlessly from going through treatment and allow you to skip it. However, it's necessary to seek a professional medical opinion.
If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you might not have to be treated. Seek a prostate specialist second opinion. If you qualify, you'll be monitored to ensure that your cancer doesn't grow to a dangerous size, and you can live your life normally.