The treatment options for prostate cancer depend in part on your age, your overall health and whether the tumor has spread. For tumors that are still inside the prostate, radiation therapy (using x-rays that kill the cancer cells) and a surgery called radical prostatectomy are common treatment options. "Watchful waiting" is also a treatment option. In this approach, no treatment is given until the tumor gets bigger. Watchful waiting may be the best choice for an older man who has a higher risk of dying from something other than his prostate cancer.

Usually, tumors that have grown beyond the edge of the prostate can't be cured with either radiation or surgery. They can be treated with hormones that slow the cancer's growth.