In the debate over whether a patient diagnosed with minimal prostate cancer should or should not undergo treatment the suggestion often made is to avoid treatment altogether and just ?wait and see.?? In the past, ?wait and see? meant just that. Do absolutely nothing until a doctor discovered the cancer had advanced.? Today, ?wait and see? has been replaced by terms such as?expectant management? or ?active surveillance.?
No matter which term the doctor uses, both reflect a more proactive course in following the disease.? The procedure calls for an active course of keeping an eye on the patient?s condition. It calls for periodic check-ups that can include DRE?s, PSA?s, and, if needed, biopsy. These days doctors find that in many men diagnosed with cancers, the cancers are small enough to pose no imminent threat to their lives. In these cases the risks associated with treatment and possible loss of a comfortable lifestyle may make less sense than proceeding with immediate intervention. So a patient may elect a course of ?expectant management.?? It?s a course, by the way, that is also a viable choice for either older men who are too ill or who just don?t want to undergo the rigors of treatment.
However, when it comes to African Americans and men at high risk who have minimal disease, they should be followed by a course of active surveillance. It is imperative not to ignore progressive cancer that can in time lead to advanced prostate cancer, a condition that is very difficult to control and can be fatal.
Source: http://www.prostatecancersurvivorspeak.com/wait-and-see-no-longer-cool/
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