Radiotherapy & HT or Robotic Surgery

Hello 10up and welcome to our club - we are a decent bunch!

That question has been asked so many times and it all boils down to personal choice. Both treatments have side effects and issues, the honest answers are;

* Read as much as you can on here and Prostate Cancer UK regarding the two treatments.

* Read people's personal journeys through their treatment - I am 21 months down the HT/RT route - I had no choice as I had a couple of issues but I now feel amazing and the treatment is "curative" You can read my journey by clicking on the icon of the beach.

* Write yourself a list of "pros and cons" for each treatment. You know your own mind and body. Some just want it out - others hate the thought of surgery - then there's man boobs - hot flushes - erectile issues - the list goes on.

Ask any questions you want - however trivial - we as a Community are here for you.

Best wishes - Brian.

There are side effects and risks with each of your choices. All Surgery comes with risks and prostatectomy is no different. Erectile disfunction can be permanent, but manageable with medication and or a pump. The level of urinary incontinence can vary in terms of severity and duration. The advantage is that it can get rid of the pesky cancer in one go, but if it comes back you still have the option of radiotherapy afterwards. Another advantage is that 6 to 8 weeks after succesful surgery your PSA level should be so low that it us described as being undetectable.

Hormone therapy can go on for years and will also result in man boobs, hot flashes, erectile disfunction and no desire. It can also cause osteoporosis of the bones and cause diabetes. 

Radiotherapy can mean weeks of travelling 5 days a week to hospital, it can cause fatigue and the bowel has to be prepared before every treatment. It can cause diarrhoea and there's a risk of damage to the rectom or bowel. More importantly it is highly unlikely that surgery can be performed after Radiotherapy due to hardening of the tissues. 

With the latter options it also takes longer for the PSA level to fall.

All 3 options are meant to offer the same chance of a cure, so it all depends on which of the inevitable or possible side effects/risks you can live with.

My husband had the surgery in June and having a catheter wasn't the best experience, but it wasn't for long. His was in place for longer than the usual 2 weeks as he was discharged from hospital with a drain and the 2 week count down started when the drain was removed.

If you look at my profile you can read about my husband’s journey.

Flipping autocorrect. I meant man boobs not boots.

If was boots,would of been better!

I would love to swap my man boobs (thanks NHS) for some boots!!

(You can correct a post by using the green "more" tab and then press "edit" - old fat fingers here uses it all the time!!.

Again thought a cracking, honest and to the point post - thanks GR1.

Best wishes - Brian.

I was looking for the more tab with the option to edit  but it didn't give me that choice. I've made a few gaffs that I would have corrected if I'd been able to find it.

I found the more button now. First I found it by accessing the post on my laptop. Then I went back to my phone and it wasn't there. I realised that it was possibly because of the size of the screen and turned my phone to landscape and it was there. No excuse for posting jibberish now.

• Exactly the same with me 3+4 I was offered surgery but chose HT RT now 3 months in to HT no problems just hot flushes awaiting radiotherapy at moment . THE CHOICE IS YOURS good luck 

Thanks,how long do you have to have HT before Radiotherapy? Thought HT came after in what i read.

The normal time span for RT after starting HT is 3 - 6 months - but it can be longer. Waiting times for RT are becoming increased in some areas of the NHS. In my case it was delayed because I had an indwelling catheter and was waiting for a TURP operation.