Most prostate cancers grow slowly, so you have a good chance of surviving your cancer whether you have treatment or not. Even if your cancer has spread to tissue nearby, your chances of surviving are still good.

Doctors still don't know enough about whether the treatments available for early prostate cancer will help you live longer. And all the treatments for this cancer can have serious side effects.

What treatments you are offered will depend on:

• The size of your prostate cancer and how slow- or fast-growing it is

• Whether the cancer has spread to other areas and, if so, where it has spread

• Your age and general health.

Here, we look at treatments for cancer that has not spread outside your prostate (clinically localised cancer). There is some information on treatments for more advanced disease at Treatments for advanced prostate cancer.

Key points for men whose cancer has not spread

• You have three main treatment options: surgery, radiotherapy, and active surveillance. Active surveillance is when doctors regularly check your cancer with tests and investigations rather than treat it immediately, and may switch to another form of treatment if necessary.

• Your doctor may also recommend hormone treatment if you're having radiotherapy.

• If you choose active surveillance, you have a good chance of surviving your cancer and you can avoid the side effects of treatment. But you have to live with an untreated cancer.

• If you have surgery, there is a small chance that you will live longer than if you choose active surveillance.

• Surgery, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy can all have serious side effects. The main side effects are erection problems and incontinence (you can't control when you urinate).

• Another type of radiotherapy, called brachytherapy, may be more convenient for you than standard radiotherapy. Standard radiotherapy involves treatment for five days a week for four to eight weeks. Brachytherapy involves only one trip to hospital.

• Most prostate cancers grow slowly. Most men with early-stage cancer survive for at least five years, whether or not they have treatment.

Your decision on treatment may be based on your own personal preference. To help you make this decision, you may need to ask yourself:

• Would I be too worried to live with an untreated cancer?

• What effect would erection problems and incontinence have on my life?

• Am I fit and healthy enough to have surgery?

• Does my age make a difference to my decision?

Deciding between active surveillance and early treatment can be difficult. See How do I decide if active surveillance or early treatment is right for me?

Treatments for cancer that has not spread

Cancer that hasn't spread is called clinically localised cancer. All the treatments for this type of cancer need further study before we know which ones work best.

• Active surveillance: This is where doctors regularly check on your cancer rather than treat it straight away. They may begin treatment if your cancer shows signs of growth or you start having symptoms. More...

• Radical prostatectomy: This is an operation to remove the prostate and prostate cancer as well as some of the tissue nearby. More...

• Radiotherapy: A machine beams radiation from outside the body into the tumour to kill the cancer cells. More...

• Internal radiotherapy (brachytherapy): Radioactive seeds are placed directly in the prostate to kill the cancer cells. More...

• Hormone therapy (with drugs or surgery): Some cancer cells need hormones to grow and spread. Hormone therapy can switch off these hormones or block the effects of hormones on your body. In early prostate cancer, hormone therapy isn't usually used on its own, but in combination with radiotherapy. More...

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