Watchful Waiting	You may have feelings of worry and anxiety about living with cancer and not treating it. The cancer needs to be followed closely - it could spread and become harder to treat.
Surgery	There are risks with any surgery, such as bleeding, infection, heart problems, or death. Recovery is longer than with radiation. Problems holding and passing urine, called incontinence, can occur. Managing this often means wearing pads to catch urine. The most common type of incontinence is passing a small amount of urine from the stress of coughing, laughing, or sneezing. A small number of men may have more serious incontinence that can be lifelong. Problems getting or keeping an erection (impotence or erectile dysfunction or ED) can occur. Most men should expect a decline in being able to get an erection after surgery. If your tumor is too close to the nerves that control erections, the nerves could be damaged or removed. This means that there is a strong chance of problems with sexual potency after surgery. Your age and prior strength of erections can affect erectile dysfunction that result from surgery.
Radiation Therapy	External Beam Radiation During Treatment Fatigue (being extremely tired) More frequent and loose bowel movements (fecal incontinence) or urinary problems Rectal irritation or bleeding. After Treatment Loss of sexual function within 5 years of treatment in half of those treated; potency rates are closer to surgery after that time. This type of therapy also causes more bowel problems than prostatectomy or brachytherapy. After treatment, there can be a temporary increase in the PSA reading. If radiation does not get rid of the cancer, surgery can be more difficult due to scarring around the prostate from radiation. Brachytherapy or Seed Implants During Treatment More frequent passing of urine, especially at night More discomfort when passing urine Can affect bowel function and cause serious problems in some men Delayed onset of sexual problems Impotence, as can occur with external beam radiation. After Treatment Urinary problems can occur.

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Glossary Terms

An inability to have an erection of the penis adequate for sexual intercourse. Also called impotence.

Inability to hold stool in the rectum.