Expectant Therapy

What is expectant therapy?

Expectant therapy is to "watch and wait" while carefully observing and monitoring the prostate cancer. This may be recommended by your physician if the prostate cancer is in a very early stage, especially in the cases of older men with small tumors that are:

• Expected to grow very slowly

• Confined to one area of the prostate

• Not causing any symptoms or other medical problems

Because prostate cancer cells often spread very slowly, many older men who have the disease may not need more extensive treatment. However, expectant therapy usually includes routine physician examinations, including digital rectal examinations (DRE) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests.

Other treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy, may be considered if it becomes clear that the cancer is growing or if it begins to cause symptoms.