Prostate Cancer Treatment

Once you and your doctor decide that surgery will help you, you’ll need to learn what to expect from the surgery and create a treatment plan for the best results afterward. Preparing mentally and physically for surgery is an important step toward a successful result. Understanding the process and your role in it will help you recover more quickly and have fewer problems. Before surgery, your doctor will give you a complete physical examination to make sure you don’t have any conditions that could interfere with the surgery or its outcome. Routine tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, are usually performed a week before the surgery. Discuss any medications you are taking with your urologist and your family physician to see which ones you should stop taking before surgery. Discuss with your doctor options for preparing for potential blood replacement, including donating your own blood, medical interventions and other treatments, prior to surgery. If you smoke, you should stop or cut down to reduce your surgery risks and improve your recovery. Eat a well-balanced diet, supplemented by a daily multivitamin with iron. Report any infections to your surgeon. Surgery cannot be performed until all infections have cleared up.