How Does Chemotherapy Affect My Chances Of Surviving Prostate Cancer?

March 16, 2009 -- Question: How does chemotherapy affect my chances of surviving prostate cancer?

Answer: We're very fortunate to have docetaxel -- or Taxotere -- as our new standard of care. It's been associated with a survival benefit. We are seeing patients now who have gone through multiple hormonal manipulations, who have also gone through docetaxel and several other hormonal therapies, in addition to other chemotherapies. There is no question at the present time that we are definitely prolonging life. We are improving quality of life. However, until we have a better sense of how other drugs may be affecting the cancer, we will not be able to make any definitive statement about exactly how long each treatment will benefit the patient.