Dr. Brian Lawenda describes how he uses an online calculator to counsel patients on their probability of recurrence or death from prostate cancer after either prostatectomy or radiation therapy.
Additionally, this tool is very helpful in discussing the possible locations where an individual’s prostate cancer might have spread (such as: growth through the prostate capsule, invasion into the seminal vesicle glands or spread to the pelvic lymph nodes).
Without knowing this information it is more challenging to make an educated decision on your treatment choices. For example, you probably would not want to simply radiate the prostate with brachytherapy or SBRT-alone if you have a high risk of cancer spread beyond the prostate. You might choose to have the seminal vesicle glands or pelvic lymph nodes radiated prophylactically, in that case. Or, you might get a pelvic MRI to better assess those locations for involvement before making your treatment decision.
