As with all cancers, prostate cancer is staged according to how far along the cancer has progressed. Usually, these stages are represented with Roman numerals, such as I, II, III, and IV, a system that was developed by the American Join Committee on Cancer to standardize staging. As you might expect, stage 4 prostate cancer is the most advanced and aggressive prostate stage.

If you have been diagnosed with a stage IV prostate cancer, you might be wondering how it relates to the other stages. Often, cancer patients are confused by the staging designations and require some further clarification. As a quick primer, the stages of prostate cancer are listed below:

Stage 4 Prostate Cancer – Stage I To IV

Stage I – Cancer is well within the prostate gland and has not spread. If you’ve had a biopsy, fewer than 5% of the biopsy tissue contained cancer.

Stage II – In this state, the cancer is also within the prostrate gland and hasn’t spread. However, during a biopsy, the tissue contained more than 5% cancerous cells.

Stage III – At this point, the cancer has spread outside the prostate gland area, but not to the lymph nodes or other body parts that are farther away from the prostate.

Stage IV – In stage 4, the prostate cancer has spread to other areas of the body, including some that are considered “far away” from the prostate gland (such as the lymph nodes.)

Stage 4 Prostate Cancer – Various Options

As you can see, stage 4 cancers need to be dealt with more aggressively and efficiently than other types. In fact, many stage 1 patients may choose to adopt a “wait and see” attitude toward their cancer rather than immediately attacking the cancer at its source. However, this isn’t an option for stage 4 prostate cancer patients.

Although treatments are structured in order to make a man healthier when it comes to his health conditions, there can be some forms of medication that can result to several prostate side effects.

Prostate cancer treatments often result to urinary and erectile dysfunction. Most of these side effects are brought about by various antibiotic treatments as well as going through the process of chemotherapy. It is already a well known fact that a man may experience mouth sores or hair loss during chemotherapy.

While going through the prostate treatment, such as stage 4 prostate cancer,  it is also possible to experience the inability to control urination, causing a dysfunction in the urinary system.

By the time it reaches a stage 4 prostate cancer , you may need to choose radiation or chemotherapy in addition to surgery to eradicate the cancer. At this point, your doctor can provide you with all the answers you need to make the most informed decision possible.