Understanding Prostate Cancer

UNDERSTANDING PROSTATE CANCER
A Clear Guide to PSA, MRI, Biopsy, Treatment and Life After Diagnosis

A diagnosis of prostate cancer can be frightening and confusing. Suddenly you may find yourself faced with unfamiliar terms such as PSA density, PI-RADS, Gleason score, Grade Group, staging, active surveillance, prostatectomy, radiotherapy and PSMA PET scans. Understanding what these terms actually mean can make an enormous difference when discussing your options and making decisions about your care.

Understanding Prostate Cancer has been written to explain prostate cancer in clear, straightforward language without losing the important medical detail.

Written by consultant urologist Mr Antoine Kass-Iliyya, the book takes the reader through the prostate cancer journey step by step, beginning with PSA testing and the investigation of a raised PSA. It explains how MRI is used, when a prostate biopsy may be recommended, what happens during a transperineal biopsy and how to make sense of the pathology report afterwards.

Clear explanations and colourful illustrations help readers understand some of the most confusing aspects of prostate cancer, including Gleason scores and Grade Groups, TNM staging, risk groups and the difference between localised, locally advanced and metastatic disease.

The book then explores the major treatment choices. It explains active surveillance and watchful waiting, radical prostatectomy, external-beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and focal treatments such as HIFU. It also discusses the important practical question many men face: should I choose surgery or radiotherapy?

For men with more advanced disease, the book explains hormone treatment, modern androgen-targeting medicines, chemotherapy, treatment of metastatic disease and what happens when prostate cancer becomes resistant to conventional hormone therapy.

Dedicated chapters explain PSMA PET/CT scanning, PSA recurrence after treatment, salvage treatment, metastatic and oligometastatic disease, and how modern treatments are changing the outlook for men with prostate cancer.

Just as importantly, the book discusses life beyond the cancer itself, including urinary control, erectile function, exercise, bone health, diet and living well during and after treatment.

This is not a substitute for advice from your own medical team. Instead, its purpose is to help you understand the conversations you are having with them, ask better questions and take a more informed role in decisions about your treatment.

Whether you have an abnormal PSA, are awaiting an MRI or biopsy, have recently been diagnosed, are considering treatment, or are supporting someone with prostate cancer, this book provides a practical and accessible guide to what happens next.