Treatment by Stage Information

Stage II (B) Prostate Cancer
If the cancer is too small to feel or see using imaging scans, treatment may be one of the following:

1. A doctor may follow the patient's condition closely without treatment. The doctor may choose this option because the cancer is not causing any symptoms or other problems, and may be growing slowly.
2. Radiation therapy.
3. Surgery to remove the prostate and the tissue around it (radical prostatectomy), with or without techniques to preserve the nerves necessary for an erection (nerve sparing technique). Usually some of the lymph nodes in the pelvis are also removed (pelvic lymph node dissection). Radiation therapy may be given following surgery
4. Placing radioactive substances in or around the tumor.
5. A clinical trial of new techniques of radiation therapy.
6. Other clinical trials.

If the cancer is detectable and is confined to the prostate, treatment may be one of the following:

1. Radical prostatectomy with or without nerve-sparing techniques, possibly followed by pelvic lymph node dissection. Radiation therapy may be given following surgery.
2. Radiation therapy.
3. A doctor may follow the patient's condition closely without treatment. The doctor may choose this option because the cancer is not causing any symptoms or other problems, and may be growing slowly. 4. Placing radioactive substances in or around the tumor
5. A clinical trial of new techniques of radiation therapy.
6. A clinical trial that involves freezing the cancer using small probes (cryosurgery).
7. Other clinical trials including hormonal therapy followed by radical prostatectomy.