Treatments for Cancer - Australian Prostate Cancer Centre

The way forward after a cancer diagnosis.

A cancer diagnosis can be challenging and can hit you on every level – mentally, emotionally and physically.

If you are trying to come to terms with a cancer diagnosis, you’ll want to know everything involved in the treatment and support and what it means to your life.

You’ll most likely want to know the best treatment options for you, what to expect from your specialists, who will be on your team, how they work together with you, even how much you’ll be out of pocket.

Most importantly, you’ll want to know how soon you can get back to normal living.

We will support you through every stage and concern, and help you find the right way forward to suit your individual circumstances. It will appear clearer and more manageable once you have a treatment and recovery plan in place.

Urological Oncology

Urological Oncology includes both medical and radiation oncology in the treatment of urological cancers. The good news is that there have been dramatic advancements over the past five years in diagnostics, operative approach, instrumentation and pharmaceutical products. Your Uro – Oncologist at APC will guide you through your treatment options and help you choose the best way forward based on the latest available evidence or access to clinical trials suitable to your condition. Don’t be afraid to talk to your specialist about any concerns or questions.

Radiation Oncology

Radiation Oncology is radiation therapy and uses high-energy rays to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells and is an effective and important part of management for a range of cancers. There are two primary kinds of radiation therapy used for urological cancers: External beam radiation therapy and internal radiation called Brachytherapy.

Hormone Deprivation Therapy

Prostate cancer cells use androgens, in particular the male hormone testosterone, to grow. Hormone therapy, called Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT), is used to reduce the level of testosterone in your body, to shrink or slow the growth of any cancer calls. While the therapy does work to fight cancer cells, it can cause some side effects, which your specialist will discuss with you.

Medical Oncology

Medical Oncology involves chemotherapy – drugs designed to destroy cancer cells anywhere in the body. Dose and frequency are carefully controlled to reduce the side effects. Some are administered intravenously, others by mouth. Often, chemotherapy is used in conjunction with other treatments, like radiation therapy.

Surgery

Preparing for and recovering from surgery can be stressful. We will support you through the entire process, and provide holistic and evidence based specialist care to get you back to normal as soon as possible. Your team includes specially trained nurses and supportive therapists such as Physiotherapists and Clinical Psychologists.

Before surgery

Before surgery, your team can provide answers to any concerns and access to pre-surgery health services such as physiotherapy to help give you the best possible surgical results.

After surgery

After surgery, your post-operative team can include a range of support services – an Incontinence Physiotherapist to help you overcome any issues you might experience with your continence, a Clinical Psychologist to aide with recovery, and an Exercise Physiologist to help you get physically active and reduce your pain levels.

We also have group education sessions for patients at the APC. Click here for more detail.