Each group may advocate the treatment in which they have received training. What's more, there are published studies that seem to favor each type of treatment. The treatments can have side effects. Both surgery and radiation can result in impotence and incontinence. Hormonal therapy, which reduces the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream and thereby deprives a prostate tumor of a necessary stimulus, has been shown in clinical trials to extend life and delay time to disease progression.
Side effects are usually loss of sex drive and weight gain.
But hormonal therapy nearly always stops working after a time because tumor cells develop that are not dependent on the hormones. The potential consequences of treatment have to be weighed carefully in each case to determine the optimal approach. Frightening as it is to remain in doubt and difficult as it may be under the restrictions of managed care, it is best to hear more than one opinion before deciding on a course of treatment. While it is advisable to receive treatment without great delay, there is almost always time to examine the options, including experimental therapies. Get as much information as possible from books, support groups and the Internet.