How do I determine which treatment option is best for me?

Prostate cancer represents a spectrum of disease. Some cancers may grow so slow that treatment may not be needed while others grow fast and are life threatening. Determining the need for treatment can be a complex decision. Initially, the need for treatment should be based on the stage and grade of the cancer as well as the age and health of the patient.
(To determine your risk and need for screening please use the risk assessment tool: Rank Your Risk)
Many physicians have sought to devise risk assessment tools that predict the likelihood of disease recurrence and progression. By combining many types of information (i.e., serum PSA level, clinical stage, Gleason score, extent of cancer in biopsy specimens), patients can be advised of the likely aggressiveness of their cancer and the need for and types of treatment available. However, the longer the patient's life expectancy, the more uncertain the prediction becomes, as most prostate cancers progress with time.
When prostate cancer spreads (metastasizes) it is usually progresses, though not always in such a neat step-wise fashion, first by perforating the capsule and extending into the periprostatic tissues, then to the seminal vesicles, then to the lymph nodes and finally to the bones, lungs, and other organs.