Most traditional prostate cancer treatment plans consist of three main options: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. While the majority of prostate cancer patients will still undergo some combination of those three treatments, there are alternative treatments available for select groups of patients. For patients with early stage prostate cancer, hormone therapy can often stall cancer cell production as a precursor to traditional treatment. Meanwhile, men with late stage prostate cancer may find hope in a new immunotherapy treatment.

New therapy uses your own cells to fight cancer
Turning your body’s immune system into a prostate cancer-fighting drug may sound like science fiction, but that’s precisely what immunotherapy can do for many men with advanced prostate cancer.

“Immunotherapy is a new, FDA-approved process for using a patient’s own T-cells – the immunologic cells in your body – and activating them against an antigen or cell that is in the prostate cancer,” explains Patricia Madej, MD, Medical Oncologist on staff at Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

Here’s how it works. Your blood is taken in the physician’s office. That blood is then sent to a special lab where the T-cells are combined with a protein to boost the disease fighting power of the cells. The combination creates a custom-made cancer drug made specifically for you from your own cells. Between 2-3 days later, the activated blood is sent back to your physician to be put back into your body so the enhanced cells can fight the cancerous cells. The result is prolonged survival and a halt to the disease’s progression.

“Right now immunotherapy treatment is limited to those men with advanced prostate cancer who have not responded to hormone therapy,” says Dr. Madej, “but it’s an exciting advance in the fight against prostate cancer.”

Hormone therapy slows the growth of cancer cells
Hormone therapy (also known as androgen deprivation) is a more traditional way to slow the progression of prostate cancer. For many men, it is their first line of treatment against the disease or is used in combination with other treatments. Hormone therapy limits the production of testosterone, which means the cancerous cells within the prostate gland can’t get the fuel they need to grow.

There are three types of hormone therapy for prostate cancer:
• Medications that stop the body from producing testosterone.
• Medications that block testosterone (but don’t halt its production).
• Surgery to remove the testicles.

“Prostate cancer is a little different than some other cancers,” Dr. Madej says. “For some men, it is a very slow growing cancer that lays low for quite some time. That’s why using therapy to slow the growth down even more can be effective.”

If the tumor doesn’t seem to be responding to hormone therapy, chemotherapy is a likely next step. When chemotherapy is introduced in a prostate cancer case, the goal is to control symptoms and enhance the patient’s quality of life rather than cure the disease. “In some cancers, chemotherapy can result in long-term remissions, but that is not true when it is used to treat prostate cancers,” explains Dr. Madej.

Personalized treatment plan key to success
Dr. Madej stresses that when deciding on a treatment plan, the patient’s quality of life has to be at the forefront of the decision-making process. That’s especially true for prostate cancer patients since the majority of men with this slow-growing cancer are diagnosed after age 60. “If a treatment seems to be fighting the cancer, but the patient simply cannot live comfortably with the treatment’s side effects, then we have to question whether continuing treatment is the best plan,” Dr. Madej says.

It’s the personal touch combined with technology and expertise that makes a difference for patients. Physicians at Adventist Midwest Health have access to sophisticated technology and clinical trials like you’d find at a university hospital, but have them available close to home.

“When you’re fighting a disease like cancer you don’t want to compromise care for convenience. At Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, I think patients get the best of both worlds,” says Dr. Madej.

Take advantage of a FREE prostate cancer screening offered through Adventist Midwest Health by calling 866-533-7968.