Timeline for HT while doing External Radiation

Hello Cancerfighter and welcome to the forum - we aren't a bad bunch!

Once you start on Hormone therapy it stops the production of testosterone - this is "food" for the prostate cancer. The usual "dose" of hormone therapy depends on your consultant and its's 24 or 36 months and is from the date it's prescribed.

The Radiotherapy treatment kills off the cancer cells and will reduce your PSA readings and they should remain low long after both treatments have been completed.

I am 21 months into my personal HT/RT journey and you can read this by clicking on the icon of the beach - this may help you understand the journey - but I had a few "issues" on the way - it's a happy ending though!

Anything else, however trivial, just ask.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi

My understanding is the 24 months of HT starts when you have the first injection. The RT runs parallel.

Regards

Stuart

Thank you for responding!  Good to know...

Thanks for your comments.

My understanding is that the start of the HT is the start of the 'HT sentence' but I am not sure! I had a word with our local prostate cancer nurses specialist last week about the length of time my husband should be taking HT. He is T3AN0M0 Gleason 4=£-7. She said that given the presence of grade 4 cells she would recommend 2 years as a minimum idk it was not impacting too much on quality of life. There is no evidence to support the length of time of HT for intermediate to high risk cancers - only for low and high risk.

This is my first time online and yours is the first message I’ve read. Synchronicity. I also have a Gleason 8 and it hasn’t spread outside of the prostate. I’m scheduled to begin hormone treatment in a few days. Then 25 days of radiation, one month vacation, radiation seeds. It’s my understanding that if I do not do seeds I will be on hormones for 9-12 months. Otherwise it will be 24 months. It helps to know that some other people out there are like me.

I have actually 10 days before I begin hormone treatment. I’ve been wobbling back-and-forth wondering whether I should go ahead and have robotic surgery. I would be interested in how you decided to go the route of radiation/hormone versus Surgery.

Thanks

I’m 3b with 4+3, it’s escaped, I may be 4 apparently. My HT started July 2022, That was 3 months before RT started. I was told 3 years from June 2022 not from when RT finished. But I have been given the option to stop after 2 years if it’s impacting my quality of life. It does impact me, bowels, joints, fatigue and emotions.  (Not forgetting ED and desire). But I might go for Christmas 2024 which is 2 1/2 years as a compromise. I quite like living and controlling it better than allowing it to possibly grow unnoticed.