If your doctor suspects that you have prostate cancer, he or she will refer you to a specialist.  In the first instance, this is usually a urologist, who will carry out a number of tests and may undertake a biopsy of the prostate to test for the presence of prostate cancer and how advanced it is.

Treatment of prostate cancer depends on:

• the stage of the disease
• the location of the cancer
• the severity of symptoms
• your general health and wishes.

Treatment options range from active surveillance for those men who have been diagnosed with low risk localised prostate cancer to surgery, radiotherapy, hormone treatment and chemotherapy. Read more about prostate cancer treatment options.

The good news is that, with early detection, prostate cancer can usually be treated successfully.  Reflecting this and better treatment, the age standardised rate of deaths from prostate cancer per 100,000 cases has been gradually falling.