If you've been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may assume that chemotherapy or radiation therapy are in your future, but surprisingly, many other treatments are available. Here are three lesser-known treatments that your doctor may recommend.

Monitoring

Unlike many other types of cancers, prostrate cancer grows quite slowly, so it may never lead to any health problems. This means that you may not need any other treatment other than careful monitoring by your doctor. According to the American Cancer Society, only one-quarter of men who are being monitored will ever need further treatments like radiation therapy or surgery. Since these cancer treatments can cause many unpleasant side effects, your doctor may decide that treatment isn't worth it at this point. 

Monitoring doesn't mean sitting and doing nothing, though. Your doctor will want to have regular follow-up appointments with you to make sure you're still feeling ok. You'll also get tests like blood tests and biopsies to make sure that you're not getting worse.

Hormone Therapy

Testosterone, the male sex hormone, helps your prostate cancer grow, so lowering your testosterone levels can slow the growth of your cancer or even shrink the tumor. Your doctor may prescribe medications like luteinising hormone blockers or anti-androgens to decrease testosterone production within your body. These medications can be given as injections, but you may also be given pills. 

This treatment can lead to mild side effects. For example, you may experience impotence or hot flashes; these side effects are unpleasant, but they're not as bad as the ones caused by chemotherapy. Unfortunately, hormone therapy isn't a permanent solution. After a few months or years of the treatment, the cancer will start growing again, even with the lowered levels of testosterone. 

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a treatment that uses freezing temperatures to kill cancer cells. Your tumor will be directly targeted, so only the local area will be affected by the treatment. During this treatment, your doctor will insert multiple needles through your perineum, the area of skin between your scrotum and anus, to access your prostate gland. If this sounds scary, don't worry: it can be done under general anesthesia, so you'll sleep right through it.

Once the needles are in place, your doctor will lower the temperature of the needles with argon gas. The frozen needles will freeze the prostate gland, and within two hours, your treatment will be finished. This treatment tends to result in impotence, which may become a long-term problem. 

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy aren't always needed for men with prostate cancer. Your doctor may recommend treating you with less-invasive treatments like monitoring, hormone therapy, or cryotherapy. To find out more, speak with a business like Unity Urology PC.