What should you know about targeted prostate cancer treatment?

Targeted care may refer to radiation directed at the prostate or selected deposits, a medicine acting on a cancer pathway, or surgery planned around the tumour's location. Options can include radiotherapy, brachytherapy, targeted radioisotope therapy, hormone-based treatment, chemotherapy or surgery. The choice depends on whether disease is confined to the prostate, has returned or has spread, along with urinary function, other conditions and personal priorities.

Before treatment, the team may use examinations, blood tests and imaging to understand the disease. Follow-up can assess symptoms, prostate-specific markers, scan findings and treatment effects. No single approach suits every person.

Bring details of urinary symptoms, sexual function, bowel health, medicines and previous procedures. Ask what the treatment is intended to do, what alternatives exist and how it may affect continence, erections, bowel habits, energy and bone health. If a procedure is suggested, ask about recovery and the experience needed for that specific technique, including robotic surgery when relevant.

Seek urgent help if you cannot pass urine, have severe lower abdominal pain, heavy bleeding, sudden leg weakness or loss of bladder or bowel control. Contact the care team promptly for fever, worsening pain, blood in urine that persists, new bone pain or rapidly increasing difficulty passing urine. These symptoms need assessment and should not be attributed to cancer or treatment without review.

Where is the cancer, and what is the treatment targeting? What are the options for preserving urinary, sexual and bowel function? How will response be monitored? Should I consider radiotherapy, brachytherapy, radioisotope treatment or surgery?