Curing cancer is the dream of scientists, physicians, and patients. For the most part, no one has yet discovered how to cure cancer, but there are some interesting anomalies with regard to prostate cancer. Is prostate cancer curable? The answer may surprise you.
A Common Cancer Among Men
Second only to skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Yet, there are three million survivors of prostate cancer. In addition, the five year survival rate for local and regional prostate cancer is nearly 100%. Local refers to cancer which has remained in the prostate, whereas regional means it has spread only to some nearby organs.
Curability Rate Of Prostate Cancer
Curability is a term used about certain cancers. Many doctors consider a cancer “cured” when a patient remains cancer free for a specified period after treatment. The higher the number of patients who stay cancer free for 5 years or more, the higher the curability of that type of cancer.
Prostate cancer has one of the highest curability rates along with cancers of the breast, testicular cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, cervical, melanoma, and thyroid.
We may wonder why prostate cancer has such a high survival rate. There are several reasons this is true.
- Prostate cancer is a very slow growing cancer. It can take years for any symptoms to appear.
- Because of its slow growth, doctors are able to detect prostate cancer early and begin treatment.
- Prostate cancer takes a long time to spread, so finding small local tumors confined to the prostate makes it more likely the cancer will respond to treatment.
SC Oncology Associates has enough time to treat the cancer, and patients, in consultation with their physician, have time to consider which treatment is best for them. There may not be an official cure, but prostate cancer remains treatable for a long time. With appropriate treatment options a patient can extend their life. Some consider this like living with a chronic disease.
Do patients with prostate cancer who are cancer free for 5 years or more consider their cancer in remission or cured?
Contact SC Oncology Associates at (803) 461-3000 if you are between the ages of 45 and 50 and want to discuss or begin prostate cancer screening.
