Once prostate cancer has moved out of the prostate gland and spread into other parts of your body it is said to be advanced prostate cancer and treatment is far more difficult than when the disease is confined to the prostate gland.
Where your cancer has not spread too widely and is not especially aggressive it is still possible not just to treat it but in fact to cure it. But, in many cases where the disease is widespread, or is particularly aggressive, treatment is a matter of simply holding back the progress of the disease and giving you the best quality of life possible.
Presently one of the chief treatments for cases of advanced prostate cancer is chemotherapy frequently using a drug called docetaxal. This is a very effective drug for many people and it does indeed hold back the progress of advanced prostate cancer and extend the life of many people. Nonetheless, it is not without various side effects that include things like nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss and a greater risk of infection. As a result it is here that we run into one of the biggest difficulties in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
When you are dealing with a condition that cannot be cured and that will kill you sooner or later, then extending your life by holding back the progression of the disease is fine providing that treatment gives you a reasonable quality of life and does not leave you feeling that the treatment is worse than the cancer itself.
For a lot of prostate cancer patients, who are frequently in their 60s or older, chemotherapy is hardly pleasant but it is a price that is worth paying to buy them some time when they initially start their treatment. But, as the treatment progresses and the side effects start to come into play the picture frequently alters and many patients soon begin to question whether or not it is all worth it. Of course this is never a simple question to answer and must be the subject of a discussion between the patient, his family and his physician.
A lot of us are familiar with this scenario either as a result of our own personal experience of illness or from our experience of seeing a family member of close friend in this situation and know well just how difficult a time it can be.
There may however be a little light at the end of this tunnel as studies involving a sizeable group of patients with metastatic, androgen-independent prostate cancer suggest that many people might be able to take a 'chemo holiday' without any significant detriment to their treatment. Put another way, after several weeks of chemo, and at a time when the side effects are staring to get you down, you might be able to stop your chemo for a while and let your body recover a little before carrying on with your treatment.
It is of course early days yet and nobody is exactly certain yet about just how long your 'chemo holidays' could be or how frequently you can take them, but for a lot of advanced prostate cancer patients this seemingly small advance in treatment could well make a world of difference.
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on a wide variety of prostate problems including such things as the therapeutic use of self prostate milking
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