Prostate Cancer: What Does Watchful Waiting Involve?

You probably don’t pay much attention to your prostate — until something goes wrong. But this small organ located in a man’s abdomen is crucial to your reproductive system. It nourishes the semen that moves out of the body through ejaculation, and its muscles help push the semen out of the urethra. Prostate cancer is one of the most common conditions affecting the organ, with about 1 in 8 men contracting it in their lifetimes. Nearly 314,000 new cases and almost 36,000 deaths due to prostate cancer are recorded annually in the US.

This disease can be dangerous, but with proper care, millions of men survive it. Prostate cancer has 4 main stages. In its early days, watchful waiting can be effective in managing it. To better understand how this method works, let’s explore the different stages of prostate cancer and discover when and how watchful waiting is used.

Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and South Florida residents struggling with the symptoms of prostate cancer can find help with Drs. Craig Herman and Steven Kester and the dedicated medical staff at the Urology Center of Florida.

Stages of prostate cancer

One of the most effective ways to determine the proper treatment of your prostate cancer is to understand the condition’s stages. This is done using the TNM (tumor, nodes, metastasis) system created by the American Joint Committee on Cancer, along with your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and Gleason score. This is how it’s categorized:

Stage 1

At this point, the cancer is small, hasn’t moved outside of the prostate, your PSA level is low, and your survival rate is very high.

Stage 2

The cancer is still only in your prostate. It isn’t large enough to be felt in a physical exam but can be detected with ultrasound. It also has a high survival rate and is divided into several groups to indicate changes in PSA levels and your Gleason score, a grading system created by Dr. Donald Gleason in the 1960s. 

Stage 3

The cancer is likely still confined to the prostate and is broken down into subcategories that indicate possible spread to lymph nodes and other organs. The survival rate is high, provided the cancer hasn’t spread into different areas.

Stage 4

At this point, the cancer has spread, and your survival rate lowers by at least 30%. Management will depend on the extent of the damage to other tissues and bones.

When watchful waiting is used

Also referred to as expectant management, this method is best used for those diagnosed as being in the first two stages of prostate cancer, when the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate and damage to the organ is minimal. At this point, we’re monitoring for any changes that may require treatment, paying close attention to your symptoms. It’s also a helpful method if you’re struggling with other serious health problems and don’t want to risk the complications of cancer therapies unless it’s absolutely necessary.

How watchful waiting is used

While you’re undergoing watchful waiting, we perform tests every few months. These include   digital rectal exams, PSA blood tests, ultrasounds or MRIs, and biopsies to keep track of any changes. If any changes occur, medications, radiation therapy, or surgery may be viable options for treatment, depending on your needs.

Prostate cancer sounds frightening, but in the early stages, we can not only monitor any changes with watchful waiting, but, if things change, we’ll also be ready to give you what you need to get through it. Call or message the Urology Center of Florida team today to make an appointment and stay on top of your prostate health.