Prostate Cancer Treatment in Utah

Prostate cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the prostate, a walnut-sized gland in the male reproductive system that helps produce semen and nourishes sperm. Prostate cancer forms when cells in the prostate become abnormal and start rapidly multiplying.

Symptoms of Prostate Cancer:

Prostate cancer often shows no symptoms in the early stages. In more advanced prostate cancer, symptoms may appear. However, they can vary from person to person. Since the prostate is close to the bladder and surrounds the urethra, which empties the bladder, most symptoms involve urination.

Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:

  • Inability to urinate or difficulty in starting to urinate
  • Trouble emptying the bladder completely
  • Weak or interrupted urine flow
  • Painful or burning urination
  • Difficulty trying to hold back urination
  • Frequent or urgent need to urinate
  • Blood in the urine or semen
  • Difficulty having or maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction or ED)
  • Continual pain in the bones, including in the lower back, pelvis, hips, or thighs. This is typically only experienced by patients whose prostate cancer has spread to their bones (metastatic prostate cancer).

Prostate Cancer Treatment Options:

At Utah Cancer Specialists you receive customized care that is planned by some of the nation’s leading prostate cancer experts. Your personal team of specialists works together at every step to be sure you receive the most advanced therapies with the fewest possible side effects.

Your treatment plan will depend on a variety of factors, including:

  • Overall health and well-being
  • Age
  • Grade and associated risk of your cancer
  • Goals for treatment outcomes

Talk with your doctor about which treatments are available and how those treatments may affect you. One or more of the following therapies may be used to treat your cancer.

  • Surgery to remove a tumor or part of the colon, or both
  • Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to kill disease cells
  • Hormone therapy Hormone therapy is most often used for late-stage, high-grade tumors with a Gleason score of 8 or higher or in patients with cancer that has spread outside the prostate
  • Chemotherapy either locally (near the tumor) or systemically (throughout the body)
  • Immunotherapy which helps the immune system get rid of cancer cells, may be used for advanced colon cancer