There isn't a simple answer to this question. This is because there are several different types of treatment for prostate cancer and not one treatment, or combination of treatments, is best for everybody.

The main treatments include:

• surgery - radical prostatectomy
• radiotherapy
• hormone therapy.

Choosing the right treatment depends on many factors including:

• the grade and stage of the cancer
• your age, general health and fitness.

Your feelings are also important in making treatment choices. This is especially true in prostate cancer as often different treatments are likely to be equally effective. So the best treatment for you may depend on your preferences. For example with an early prostate cancer, the choice may lie between surgery (radical prostatectomy), radiotherapy or monitoring the cancer and keeping treatment in reserve until it is needed.

Where there are choices to be made discussing the different possibilities with your specialists and working together to make decisions is an essential part of the treatment planning.

Prostate cancer treatment may be given by different types of specialists such as urologists (surgeons) and clinical oncologists (doctors who give radiotherapy). So, it is best to be treated by a doctor working in a team that includes both. This is called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). These teams are in place at hospitals throughout the UK so there will be a specialist team for prostate cancer at a hospital not too far from where you live.

There are also national guidelines for the management of prostate cancer.