Fear of treatment

Hello Steve, Just got your email, been in the workshop churning out stuff for the Christmas market. I hear what everyone says about fatigue and hot flushes but I can't quite get a grip on what this is going to feel like for me, everyone being different and all. I appreciate that you are carrying on with quiet fortitude and I hope that I'll achieve something like that. All in all, when all's said and done and other platitudes, the treatment may be a total bind or a living horror or somewhere in between: given the alternative, it can't be that bad...

Lucky 13 then, I hope the chequered flag is in sight for you, even if in the distance,

In solidarity,

Richard The Shellback

Shellback,

It wasn't such a lucky 13.  The goalposts have been moved a bit.  Next Monday's session is cancelled and my last one now has been moved to Tuesday 2nd November.

I suppose I could live with the Hot Flushes.  Will my bits ever work again?  Hopefully I only have one more Hormone Injection, all depending on how everything goes.

Good luck with yours.

I know some men get more side effects.  I'm lucky for now.

Richard,

I forgot to mention from yesterday.  They're clamping down on my food.  No Bran Flakes, no eggs, only drink Peppermint Tea (I drink that anyway, but not all the time).  Not to mention no wine .

 Eat salads, more salads and more salads.  Am I a Rabbit? ,(Not with what the Hormones are doing to me).

It's good to have a moan now and again).

After today it's 14 down, 6 to go. (Love the countdown, it spurs me on).

I know that they can't take my sense of humour away.

Steve! Shock horror! No wine? Oy gevalt! 

I do like salads but, as with peppermint tea, not all the time. My wife asks me to ask you “does it affect your driving?” It’s interesting that she doesn’t want to know about what the hormones will do to me.

14 is a good number, the checkered flag flutters in the distance  

Like you say, the sense of humour is essential. 

In solidarity,

Richard the Shellback

Richard,

No complaints today.  Telephone review next Monday.

So it is definitely 14 down 6 to go.

I hope you dont mind me jumping in here. My husband is 55 and was diagnosed in April 2021. He had T.stage3 and a gleeson score of 7 (3÷4) he  decided to have surgery. That was in June 2021. Read as much information as you can and talk to everyone you know. Surgery was the best option for him

Hi Fmc67

Mine was a T2 (Gleason 3+4), hadn't spread.

I wasn't suitable for surgery and opted for Hormones and Radiation.

I don't regret going for the Hormones and Radiation.

Only 5 more VMAT Radiation sessions to go after today.

With my other health problems, this is/was the best choice for me.

Richard,

My VMAT Radiation is finally over.  Today is my first non-Radiation day for a month.  Seems a bit weird not going to the Hospital.

My fatigue ended up being far worse than ever.  I know that it won't last forever, just feels like it.

I don't regret for a minute getting the Hormones and VMAT Radiation.

Hopefully now, I'm going to be on the road to recovery.  No doubt it was be a windy road with plenty of twists and turns.

I just hope I get to see the Wizard (if not, I can click my heels together 3 times).

It's the sense of humour, I can't let go of it.

All the best with your treatment Richard.

Great news Steve. You will gradually improve now that the RT is finished. Try to take as much exercise as you can and that will help a lot.

Hello Steve,

I’m delighted to hear your news. You must be relieved and I congratulate you on your progress. 

I had my first meeting with the oncologist today. Her opinion is that because my general health and age are so good (!) and my cancer is so small and contained, it would be sensible to adopt the “watchful waiting” approach. Blood was taken and, depending on the PSA level, I must decide on whether to start treatment. Or not. 

It is heartening that the option to start treatment will always - for a good while anyway - be open to me, at my discretion. I have absorbed your experiences and have no qualms about setting sail on that course, if the runes recommend. I have a complication in being host to a diverticular condition that might be brought to life by the radiation. So that might lead to lavatorial adventures. On and on and…

I’m in the hands of the medics, mediated by my choices. Life is ever interesting. 

I salute you, mo ch