A surgical approach to treating prostate cancer entails removing all of the prostate. Typically, men with early-stage disease or cancer that’s confined to the prostate will undergo radical prostatectomy- removal of the entire prostate gland, plus some surrounding tissue. Other surgical procedures may be performed on men with advanced or recurrent disease. If you are considering undergoing prostate cancer surgery, here are a few questions to discuss with your doctor:
- Which surgical technique will be used? Open or robotic? How are they different?
- Based on your experience, why is this the best approach for me?
- Will you be able to save the nerves near the prostate that are responsible for erection?
- What level of success have you had in preserving potency in your patients following surgery?
- Will you be removing lymph-nodes to check for spread of cancer? What does this tell you about my prognosis?
- What about preserving urinary continence?
- What will you do if you find cancer outside of my prostate during surgery? Will that change my prognosis and future treatment?
- What can I expect following the surgery in terms of recovery?
- What are the likely or possible side effects of the surgery- both short term and long term?
- What will we do to monitor my prostate cancer following surgery?