What Happens During Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer

How often you get chemotherapy treatments depends on the type of chemotherapy that you will receive.

Chemotherapy drugs for prostate cancer are usually given by a needle attached to a tube that allows the drugs to drip slowly into your veins, called an intravenous drip. If you have the drugs given intravenously, you will get them in a doctor's office, outpatient clinic, or in the hospital. These treatments can last several hours each.

There are several drugs to choose from. With your chemotherapy drugs, your doctor may also recommend that you take a steroid, such as prednisone, to ease bone pain. The following chemotherapy drugs are typically used to treat advanced prostate cancer. They may be used alone or in combination.

• Taxotere (docetaxel)

• Jevtana (cabazitaxel) 

• Emcyt (estramustine)

• Novantrone (mitoxantrone)

• Paraplatin (carboplatin)

• Taxol (paclitaxel)

• Velban (vinblastine)

• VePesid (etoposide)