The treatment of prostate cancer depends on the stage of the cancer and the overall health status of the patient and may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Surgery involves the complete removal of the cancerous prostate gland and also helps confirm the diagnosis, by biopsy, and ascertain the need for any additional therapy.

Radical Prostatectomy

Radical prostatectomy is a surgical procedure to treat prostate cancer and involves removal of the whole prostate gland, seminal vesicles and the surrounding tissues through an incision in the lower abdomen.

Watchful waiting and active surveillance are treatments used for older men who do not have signs or symptoms or have other medical conditions, and for men whose prostate cancer is found during a screening test.

Prostate brachytherapy involves the placement of radioactive material directly into the prostate gland. These implants can be in the form or wires or radioactive iodine ‘seeds’.

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone Therapy is another option for treating Prostate Cancer. It is most commonly used in the treatment of malignancies that have spread beyond the prostate.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy concerns the use of special cytotoxic drugs to treat cancers by either killing the cancer cells or slowing their growth. Chemotherapy drugs travel round the body and attack rapidly growing cells, which may also include healthy cells in the body as well as cancer cells.

There are a number of treatments available to patients diagnosed with bladder cancer. Treatment depends on whether the bladder cancer is early and limited to the initial layers of the bladder or whether it has invaded into the deeper muscle layer of the bladder. The choice of treatments depends on a number of factors, including age, general health and the extent and stage of the tumour. Prof Patel will ascertain the most appropriate course of treatment for you.

Cystoscopy

Cystoscopy enables Prof Patel to directly view the inside of the urinary bladder and urethra in great detail using a "cystoscope" (the instrument used).

TURBT

If a tumour in the bladder is diagnosed on imaging or at cystoscopy, a sample of the growth is required. If it is small, only a small biopsy is required followed by cauthery to stop it bleeding.

Radical Cystectomy

When the bladder cancer has grown or invaded surrounding muscle or tissue surgical management is most likely to be necessary, usually in the form of a cystectomy which is the complete removal of the bladder.

Intra-vesical treatment involves flushing the bladder with chemotherapy or immunotherapy to kill any residual tumour cells. In this procedure chemotherapy drugs are placed directly into the bladder in order to prevent the tumour recurring or to prevent it from invading the deeper layers of the bladder wall.

Chemotherapy concerns the use of special cytotoxic drugs to treat cancers by either killing the cancer cells or slowing their growth. Chemotherapy drugs travel round the body and attack rapidly growing cells, which may also include healthy cells in the body as well as cancer cells.

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy.

There are a number of treatment options for kidney cancer. The ideal treatment depends on a number of factors, including the extent of the tumour and the current health of the patient. Treatment options vary and these should be discussed with the doctor to identify which is the best course of treatment for individual patients. They include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The most common form of surgery for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is radical nephrectomywhichinvolves removal of the entire kidney, often along with the attached adrenal gland, surrounding fatty tissues and nearby lymph nodes (regional lymphadenectomy), depending upon how far the cancer has spread.

It may be possible to remove only the cancerous tissue and part of the kidney if the tumour is small and confined to the very top or bottom of the kidney. This is known as apartial nephrectomyand may be the preferred choice for patients with RCC in both kidneys or for those who have only one functioning kidney.

Radical Nephrectomy

Laparoscopic techniques allow the kidney to be removed using three 1cm “keyhole” incisions in the abdomen. A laparascope (small telescope/camera) is inserted into one of the incisions and takes pictures.

Robotic Partial Nephrectomy

A nephrectomy is the surgical removal of the kidney. A partial nephrectomy or kidney-sparing procedure involves the removal of only the unhealthy portion of the kidney, leaving healthy tissue intact. It is indicated for kidney cancer and severely diseased or damaged areas of the kidney.

For patients with small tumours who may not be ideal surgical candidates, image-guided ablation of kidney cancers is an option. Instead of making surgical incisions, Prof Patel places small needles through the skin and uses x-rays to guide them into the cancer.

This is the least invasive treatment option for small kidney tumours (less than 4cm), which are less likely to be aggressive.  Rather than treating the tumour immediately, it is observedover time using regular ultrasounds or CT scans.  If the tests suggest that the tumour is growing at any time, treatment will commence.

A biopsy of the suspect tissue can provide an absolute diagnosis of testicular cancer. If a suspicious mass is found and other conditions are ruled out surgery is the most common form of treatment for most testicular cancers. There are two main types of surgery depending on the type of cancer that is found.

Orchidectomy

Orchidectomy involves the surgical removal of the testicle. This procedure is performed in hospital under general anaesthetic. An incision is made into the groin, where the blood vessel leading to the testicle is first cut off in a bid to prevent cancer cells ‘spilling’ into the rest of the body.

RPLND

Depending on the type and stage of the cancer, some lymph nodes at the back of the abdomen (around the large blood vessels known as the aorta and inferior vena cava) may also be removed at the same time as the orchidectomy or during a second operation.

This is commonly used in the treatment of testicular cancer that has spread beyond the testicle. In some cases it is used when the cancer appears to be still confined to the testicle.