I will post an updated list, took into consideration much of what was mentioned or what I could easily put in.
---- my list below ------
As medical technology improves, new treatment machines improve, imaging improves then we should be moving away from the “sacrifice” end of list. Good luck finding doctors that promote more towards the Lifestyle end of list. Gap means it isn’t that close to previous one on my list. Other terms possible for names of top and bottom of list, please don’t get caught up in terms too much or one misses the point.
LifeStyle (such as maintain sexuality), other terms Top, left, progressive prostate treatments
Active surveillance
(gap)
Focal Brachytherapy if done in progressive modern ways, not old Brachy done without feedback
Focal HIFU
Focal Tulsa Pro
Nanoknife/IRE or irreversible electroporation
Vanquish
Cryo-ablations – not done much anymore
(theory only) Ablative PSMA – attach a kill to PSMA rather than a tracer for scanning. It could be done but is NOT offered in USA – other places like Europe it has been tried by a wealthy few.
Point A
Full gland Tulsa Pro or HIFU
Brachytherapy if done in progressive modern ways, not old Brachy done without feedback
Proton therapy (sometimes called IMPT) & so called SBRT Proton alone. This includes Varian Probeam, or Mevion + similar, or large-scale proton such as Hitachi and others.
(gap)
MR Linac – MR based adaptive photon, MR Linac consortium/Phillips, MRIdian ViewRay, Elekta.
(gap)
Varian Truebeam and Adaptive ones like Varian ETHOS – CT based, or CT with adaptive. Some places don't think the ETHOS is that great.
(gap)
SBRT cyberknife type or photon
(gap)
IMRT
Point B
HALFWAY – below is in sacrifice portion of list
(note some place prostate removal ahead of doing ADT, but they are both below HALFWAY and are both sacrifice ends of list)
Point C
(ADTs most desirable to least desirable: 1 Orgovix, 2 Firmagon, 3 Lupron)
Point A to Point B with ADT for 4 months
Point A to Point B with ADT for 6 months
Point A to Point B with ADT for 12 months
Point A to Point B with ADT for more than 12 months
Point D
Repeat Point C to Point D with less desirable ADT
External Beam
(gap)
Prostate removal
Prostate removal, plus radiation, plus extended ADT
Sacrifice end of list, other terms: bottom, conservative, right if viewing list left to right
Why are doctors mostly at the sacrifice portion of list? Now we have something like the Varian Probeam, maybe very little or no ADT is needed, but doctors wait for studies which can be decades behind is one issue. NCCN hasn’t helped much; doctors or insurance company dictates to doctors use it as law instead of suggestions. I do know guidelines in past were less legal when doctors instead of bureaucrats ran medicine. Genetic testing is another, it seems to push the sacrifice end and to be honest only 22 genes are only tested when well over 1000 genes are likely involved in any form of cancer, so genetic testing hasn’t helped and seems more a “making money off a few genetic discoveries” push in my humble opinion.
@bjroc
One thing you don’t mention is, what is your T? T1, T2a or b, T3a or b
Those can be a factor in what treatment you need.