Our comprehensive prostate cancer clinic offers a full range of prostate cancer treatment options by a group of highly specialized providers. Our team determines the best treatment plan for each patient based on the severity of the cancer, the patient's age and medical history, and a number of other factors.
Treatment of local disease is working to remove or control the cancer cells in a specific area. Our physicians use many different treatment methods including brachytherapy, cryosurgery, expectant therapy, radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy.
Learn more about Treating Local (Early) Prostate Cancer.
Virginia Mason's expert team uses a holistic approach to treating patients with distant (metastatic) prostate cancer, giving them the best chances of a positive outcome.
Learn more about Treating Distant (Metastatic) Prostate Cancer.
Our goals are to eradicate cancer and to help you achieve an excellent quality of life following your treatment. We encourage all Virginia Mason cancer survivors to meet with survivorship specialists to talk about quality of life and "what's next" after their treatment for cancer.
Several specialists will be involved in your care including prostate cancer surgeons, medical oncologists (doctors who treat cancer with chemotherapy), radiation oncologists (doctors who treat cancer with radiation), nurses, radiologists, pathologists, and sexual dysfunction specialists who have specialized training and interest in prostate cancer.
The decision to undergo treatment resides completely with you and your family. Many cancers, when caught early, are highly treatable, allowing patients to live years and even decades beyond their initial diagnosis.
We may advise some older men with newly diagnosed, slow-growing prostate cancer to undergo "active surveillance," also called expectant therapy. In this approach, we closely monitor tumors for signs of growth, but may not administer treatment if tumors aren’t causing problems or growing.
Yes, in some cases. Younger, healthier men with prostate cancer will commonly be advised to have therapy for their disease while older men with slow-growing cancer may be advised to undergo active surveillance. Because of better screening, most prostate cancers are diagnosed at an early stage and many of them are slow-growing tumors. Other important factors that play a role in determining the treatment you receive are the stage and grade of your cancer and your overall general health.
Some cancers — breast, prostate, pancreatic and colon — can have a hereditary component that may make it advisable for family members to be tested. Virginia Mason offers a Cancer Genetic Counseling consultationto help patients and their family members who are interested in genetic testing.
Virginia Mason specialists help patients live well beyond a cancer diagnosis. In some cases, cancer can recur or a new cancer can form years or even decades after treatment. One of our goals is to help patients come to terms with their fears about cancer recurrence so they can lead productive, fulfilling lives. Another goal is to ensure that survivors realize the importance of, and are scheduled for, periodic check-ups after their last treatment for cancer.
To learn more about prostate cancer treatment at Virginia Mason or to make an appointment, please call (206) 583-2282.