Risks and Benefits of Watchful Waiting - Watchful Waiting (Expectant Therapy)

Many prostate cancers are small and grow slowly. Because many men with a slow-growing tumor have the same life expectancy as men who don't even have prostate cancer, it may not be necessary to treat very small, very slow-growing prostate tumors. Also, some men feel that the side effects of treatment outweigh the benefits. In watchful waiting, you get no treatment, but you see your doctor often. If there's no sign the cancer is growing, you continue to get no treatment. Hormone therapy can be started if the cancer starts to grow.

It can be hard to tell if a small tumor is going to grow slowly or quickly. Your doctor will get clues about the way your tumor will grow by checking your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, examining the biopsy tissue and giving you a rectal exam. The choice of watchful waiting is up to you.