Prostate Cancer Overtreatment Is Common
Men, I can’t stress this enough.
If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, don’t rush to get treatment.
Too many men who decide on treatment end up living the rest of their lives with side effects like incontinence and impotence.
You may think this is the price you need to pay to survive.
Not necessarily.
A recent study showed that all too often, the treatments for prostate cancer will leave you worse off than the cancer.
When you hear the word cancer, you want it out ASAP.
I don’t blame you.
Early detection and treatment can save your life in many types of cancer. But that’s not always the case with prostate cancer.
In a recent study, researchers analyzed data on 4,000 men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer:
- 655 had surgery to remove the prostate
- 1,056 had radiotherapy
- 2,235 received NO treatment
You’ll never believe the results 10 years later.
Compared to the men who received NO treatments, those who had their prostates removed were seven times more likely to experience urinary and erectile complications.
Compared to the men who received NO treatments, those who underwent radiotherapy had a three-fold increased risk of urinary and sexual side effects.
Interestingly, these men were also three times more likely to develop bladder cancer.
Overall, 12 years later, only 24 percent of untreated men experienced one or more complications, compared to 42 percent of those who received radiotherapy, and 61 percent of those who had surgery.
This is why it’s SO important to talk to your doctor about assessing how aggressive your prostate cancer is.
Men with aggressive cancers may find that the treatments are worth the side effects that can go along with them. But in MOST men, prostate cancer is slow-growing and does not need immediate treatment.
The term for this in the medical community is watchful waiting.
There are plenty of new tools available today—including prostate-specific MRIs and other new biomarkers—that can help your doctor determine how aggressive your cancer is.
If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, before agreeing to any treatment, be sure to find out how aggressive your cancer is.
Having that information will help you make an informed decision on which treatment—or lack of treatment—is best for you.
P.S. “Dinner Plate” danger raises prostate risk.
View Sources
Unger JM, Till C, Tangen CM, et al. Long-Term Adverse Effects and Complications After Prostate Cancer Treatment. JAMA Oncol. Published online November 07, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.4397
