You’ve Been Diagnosed With Early-Stage Disease

The wide variety of approaches to prostate cancer makes it difficult to find the best treatment path. Obtaining answers to key questions is an important step in learning about prostate cancer, and can help guide the decision-making process.

Below is a list of questions to ask your doctor when you’re diagnosed with early-stage disease. Because the types of treatment for early-stage prostate cancer (surgery and radiation therapy) are so different from each other, it’s important to also discuss the questions specific to the treatment type: what to ask when you’re considering surgery; and what to ask when you’re considering radiation therapy.

• What is my “Gleason score” and what does this mean in terms of our approach to my treatment and my prognosis?
• What is my PSA level? Have we collected multiple PSA values over time so that we can determine if my PSA level is rising? If so, how rapidly is it rising?
• Based upon what we know today, has my cancer spread beyond the prostate? What is the cure rate for this type of cancer?
• Are there additional tests that we can do to gain the most complete understanding of the stage and aggressiveness of my cancer?
• What are all of the treatment options for this stage of cancer?
• What are the benefits of the type of therapy you are recommending?
• What are the drawbacks/side effects of this type of therapy?
• Will I have problems with incontinence or impotence?
• Will I have other urinary or rectal problems?
• What other treatment(s) might be appropriate and why?
• Are you comfortable with me exploring other treatment options and speaking with other specialists before deciding upon a final plan of action?
• Is my cancer likely to come back based on what you know today?
• What can I do to improve the success of my therapy?
• What kind of follow-up can I expect after treatment?
• Are there dietary changes that I could or should make to optimize my treatment?
• Should I join a clinical trial?