Choosing a treatment

What affects my treatment options?

Your treatment options will depend on whether your cancer is contained within the prostate gland (localised), has spread just outside of the prostate (locally advanced) or had spread to other parts of the body (advanced).

You may have a choice of treatments. Your doctor or specialist nurse will explain all your treatment options, and help you to choose the right treatment for you.

It's not always easy to make a decision about treatment, and there are lots of things to think about. These include:

• if your cancer has spread

• how far your cancer has spread (its stage)

• how quickly your cancer may be growing (how aggressive it is)

• the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment

• what each treatment involves

• the possible side effects of each treatment

• practical things, such as how often you would need to go to hospital, or how far away your nearest hospital is

• your own thoughts about different treatments

• how the treatment you choose now could affect your treatment options later if your cancer comes back or spreads

• your general health

• how long you’re expected to live for.

Download or order our 'Just diagnosed' booklet

Thinking about treatments and side effects

The first treatment you have may affect which treatments you can have in the future, if you need further treatment. Speak to your doctor or nurse about this.

All treatments can have side effects. These will affect everyone differently, and you might not get all the possible side effects. It's important to think about how you would cope with the different side effects when choosing a treatment.

Make sure you have all the information you need, and give yourself time to think about which treatment is right for you. Your doctor or nurse can help you think about the advantages and disadvantages.

Find out more about treatments for prostate cancer and their side effects

What can help you during your appointments

It can be hard to take everything in when you've just been diagnosed. And you may forget exactly what was said. It can help to write down any questions you might want to ask at your next appointment. It can also help to take someone with you to appointments, such as your partner, friend or family member.

You may have telephone or video appointments with your GP, hospital doctor or specialist nurse. You may want to put the phone on speakerphone so that your partner or a family member can also listen to the call. If your loved one doesn't live with you, you could ask if it's possible to include them in the phone call as well.

It can also help to write down or record what's said to help you remember it. Talk to your doctor or nurse first to make sure they are happy with you recording the appointment - not everyone is comfortable being recorded.

Support when choosing a treatment

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer and choosing a treatment can be a difficult time. But there are people there to support you and things you can do to help yourself. Find out more ways to deal with your diagnosis.

There should be a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in the room when you get your test results. You should be given their name and telephone number so that you can get in touch if you have any questions.

You can also contact our Specialist Nurses who can help with any questions you have.

Talking to other men

It can sometimes help to talk to other men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Our One-to-One Peer Support Service can put you in touch with a trained volunteer who understands your anxieties and uncertainties because they've been there themselves. They can talk through their experience of treatments and the side effects they had.

Or you can ask questions and read about other men's experience of treatments and the side effects on our Online Community.

Find out more about how we can support you.

Questions to ask your doctor or nurse

You may find it helpful to keep a note of any questions you have to take to your next appointment. If you’re choosing a treatment, you might want to ask your doctor or nurse some of these questions.

• What treatments are suitable for me?
• How quickly do I need to make a decision?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment? What are their side effects?
• How effective is my treatment likely to be?
• Can I see the results of treatments you’ve carried out?
• Is the aim to keep my prostate cancer under control, or to get rid of it completely?
• If the aim of my treatment is to get rid of the cancer, what is the risk of my cancer coming back after treatment?
• If the aim of my treatment is to keep the cancer under control, how long might it keep it under control for?
• What treatments and support are available to help manage side effects?
• Are all of the treatments available at my local hospital? If not, how could I have them?
• After treatment, how often will I have check-ups and what will this involve? How will we know if my cancer starts to grow again?
• If my treatment doesn’t work, what other treatments are available?
• Can I join any clinical trials?
• If I have any questions or get any new symptoms, who should I contact?

Reviewers

Updated: September 2026 | To be reviewed: September 2029

Written by the Prostate Cancer UK Health Information Team.

We are committed to reviewing this content within the stated time frame to ensure it is based on the latest published research and maintains clinical accuracy. This is in line with our commitment to the PIF Tick.