Prostate Recurrence Radiotherapy

Hi everyone, Just thought I should share my personal prostate journey with you all which may be similar to others going through dealing with this devilish disease. I was diagnosed back in 2017 after visiting my GP since I was having urinary problems in that I felt like I really needed to go , but when I did it was only a small amount and minutes later I felt the urgency again. Being a sales rep on the road this was very problematic so I arranged an GP visit which surprised my wife as I never did that sort of thing. After a physical exam he decided there was a slight lump and then referred me to Ninewells in Dundee. After the usual test I had a PSA of 2.4 and a Gleason of 6 but still had stage 2 low grade prostate cancer. I was given the choice of either radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy and chose the latter just to “ get it out of me”. Six monthly blood tests ensued and although rising slightly over the years there was no cause for concern. However last November came a bolt from the blue when one of the surgical team I’d previously dealt with phoned me to say that as my PSA had risen to .3 they would need to get me in for a PET scan to see what the story was. To be honest though he didn’t sugar coat it like that by saying it could have spread to here or there and put the fear in me. Just coming up to Christmas and my head was in a spin ! Planning scan first of all , followed by the PET scan within a couple of weeks then the worrying, anxious wait and needing to know but dreading the phone call. Just before Christmas I got a call from my surgical team to tell me that there was no obvious signs of the cancer and my organs, bones etc were clear but there was most likely something microscopic causing the spike in PSA. Mixed emotions but relief at the same time. 33 fractions of radiotherapy followed starting on the 24th of March and finishing on the 7th of May also accompanied by 12 weekly hormone injections after an initial month of hormone tablets . The usual side effects ensued, upset tum, frequent peeing during the night but some aches and pains from the hormone injections, fatigue and the dreaded hot flushes ! To be honest I quite enjoyed my visits as time went on as several of us had formed a little group and we became great friends , comparing our experiences and experiences openly which was like a self therapy group. Once the 33 sessions were over there followed a 6 week wait for the outcome and on Wednesday past, the 25th I attended my oncology appointment to get the news I’d been praying for that my PSA is now undetectable. A long journey with emotional times along the way but a very worthwhile one. Just wanted to put this out here for anyone in a similar situation ( there were lots of guys like me who’d previously had surgery and lots of others getting 20 fractions as their prostate cancer treatment) and hopefully this gives an insight and hope and confidence for taking the decision to follow a similar path to mine. If anyone has any questions or just wants someone to communicate with please get in touch. A bit of a long read here but I’d rather share it than keep it to myself. Best wishes to all ️