Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients Might Soon Be Able To Take A Short Chemo Holiday

Once prostate cancer moves out of the prostate gland and reached into other parts of the body it is referred to as advanced prostate cancer and treatment is far more difficult than when cancer is limited to the prostate.

Providing your cancer has not spread too widely and is not particularly aggressive it is still possible not just to treat it but in fact to cure it. In many cases however where cancer has spread widely, or is especially aggressive, treatment is a case of merely slowing the progression of the disease and providing you with the best quality of life possible.

Today one of the main treatments for cases of advanced prostate cancer is intravenous chemotherapy frequently using a drug called docetaxal. This is a very effective drug for many patients and does indeed slow the progression of prostate cancer and extend life for a significant number of patients. However, it is not without its side effects which include such things as nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss and an increased risk of infection. Consequently it is here that we encounter one of the biggest problems in advanced prostate cancer treatment.

Where you are dealing with a disease which cannot be cured and which will eventually kill you, then extending your life by slowing down the progress of the disease is great providing that treatment gives you a reasonable quality of life and does not end up being worse than the disease itself.

For a significant number of prostate cancer sufferers, who are frequently in their 60s or older, chemotherapy is far from pleasant but is a price that is worth paying when they initially begin their course of treatment. However, as the treatment progresses and the side effects begin to come into play the picture frequently changes and many patients start to ask whether it is worth it. This of course is never an easy question to answer and needs to be the subject of a discussion between the patient, his family and his physician.

Many of us are familiar with this scenario either through our own experience of illness or through our experience of seeing family members of close friends in this situation and will know only too well just how difficult a time it can be.

There may however be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel because studies involving a group of patients with metastatic prostate cancer indicate that many patients may be able to take a 'chemo holiday' without any significant damage to their treatment. In other words, following a number of weeks of chemo, and when the side effects are beginning to get you down, you may be able to simply stop your chemo for a while and let your body recover a bit before going on with your treatment.

Now it is of course early days yet and nobody is exactly sure yet about exactly how long your 'chemo holidays' could be or how frequently you can take them, but for a significant number of advanced prostate cancer sufferers this seemingly minor advance in treatment may make a world of difference.

About the Author:
ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on a wide variety of prostate problems including such things as the therapeutic use of prostate milking

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com

Tags: prostate

, prostrate

, prostate cancer

, advanced prostate cancer

, treatment

, chemotherapy

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