Watchful waiting

Watchful waiting involves no immediate treatment but does involve close monitoring for cancer progression. This treatment approach is most often recommended for men who are unlikely to live long enough to benefit from treatment and for those who have disease that is too far advanced to cure. In addition, some men who are thought to have small prostate cancers that are likely to grow very slowly may opt for this approach.

Health Tips from Dr. Healy: Video: Why cancer patients should stop smoking Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control Eight steps you can take to reduce your risk of cancer Interested in a clinical trial? Here's all you need to know See the top online resources for prostate cancer information How to lose weight and keep it off Prostate Cancer-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

Men who choose watchful waiting must see their doctor regularly to determine whether the cancer is progressing. If the cancer progresses, treatment options such as radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy may be considered, particularly in younger men. Recommendation on the frequency of visits and the tests conducted at each visit varies from doctor to doctor. Between appointments, men of any age should call their doctor if they experience blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, or new onset of pain.