Chemotherapy

Prostate Diseases

Prostate Cancer

Chemotherapy

Cryosurgery

Hormone Therapy

Radiation Therapy

Radical Prostatectomy

Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP)

Watchful Waiting

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)

Prostatitis

Doc, I've Been Wondering...

Think of Screening as a Good Thing


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Understanding Prostate Diseases
Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy involves injecting drugs into a vein or taking the drug orally. These drugs kill cancer cells, but they also damage some normal cells.¹ The doctor must maintain a delicate balance of chemotherapy doses, making them strong enough to kill the cancer cells but not strong enough to destroy many healthy cells.² Prostate cancer cells grow very slowly; consequently research has shown chemotherapy to be of limited effect because the drugs cannot differentiate slow-growing cancer cells from normal cells.³

What are possible side effects: Potential side effects vary among different drugs and patients. The side effects range from minimal – vomiting/nausea, hair loss, mouth sores, and fatigue – to more severe – such as bone marrow suppression.⁴

Who makes a good candidate: Men who tried other types of treatments, but the cancer continued to grow, or those in an advanced stage of cancer, or when the cancer has grown outside the prostate gland and have failed on hormone therapy.⁵

References


	Important Safety Considerations Viadur should not be used by patients who are allergic to the drug leuprolide. Viadur should not be used by women or children and was not studied in women or children. Viadur, like other similar medications, causes a temporary increase of testosterone in the blood during the first week of treatment. During this initial period, patients may experience worsening of symptoms or onset of new symptoms including bone pain, nervous system disturbances, blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, and spinal cord compression. During treatment, the most common side effects reported throughout the body were hot flashes, lack of energy, breast enlargement, depression, and sweating. The most common side effects reported where the implant was inserted in the arm were bruising and burning. See Your Healthcare Provider Remember, your doctor or health care provider is the single best source of information regarding you and your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health, your symptoms, or your medication. This information does not take the place of your doctor’s advice or instructions but should help answer some of the questions you might have about prostate cancer therapies.
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	© Copyright 2007 Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. Viadur is a trademark of ALZA Corporation under license to Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. DUROS® is a registered trademark of ALZA Corporation. The information provided on Bayer products is only intended for the United States audience. Regulatory requirements, regulations, laws, and distribution of information about drug products may vary from country to country. Product names and indications (product uses) also may be different in different countries. The prescribing information provided here is based on United States labeling and may not be appropriate outside of the United States.