Side effects of Radiotherapy

Good Morning Alfie42A 

Great news the Radiotherapy has been completed, lets hope it works. I confess I found my RT staff wonderful and there was nothing but praise for them.

You are correct - a Gleason 9 is a very aggressive cancer (I am in that club myself) - but the Hormone Therapy has stopped it growing and spreading and the combination of Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy should see it off!

Radiotherapy does cause fatigue and it can also increase both the need to use the toilet. 10 visits a night does seem to be excessive (I am up 2/3 times a night and I am 18 months post RT) and I would be having a word with the GP about this - there is medication that can be prescribed.  There are also pelvic floor exercised which should enable him to regain more control. link here - https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/pelvic-floor-exercises

As to the haemorrhoids - this is no doubt a side effect of the RT and it looks like the GP is on the case. I have no personal experience here but hope the GP can get it sorted soon.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hello Alfie

can I suggest that your husband contacts either the Royal Free or his GP. 10 t8mes a night suggests that there may be some restriction of his urine flow or an infection. In either case, there are tablets to help. Re the painful haemorrhoids - perhaps the medics can help with that ?

Hi Alfie42A , sorry to hear your husband is struggling and firstly I agree with the others that you should check out the peeing with the team.  I also had problems after RT (37 sessions) with blood although not to the same degree.  I have had a couple of colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopies to check what is going on over the years and haemorrhoids and radiation damage diagnosed, neither of which are a major problem but both treatable if required.  
I am also Gleason 9 T3bN1 so we are on very similar paths I think.  The RT just scrambles everything up and there is bound to be some collateral damage.  After RT I would bleed most days but I kept a diary and noticed it reduced after a year or so, it then went to a few times a month and suddenly this year has almost stopped.  After the initial shock of seeing blood it became quite normal and didn’t bleed other than when on the loo.  I try and do a motion each day and sometimes would sit for 5 minutes waiting.  I got some brilliant advice from one specialist last year which I think helped.  He explained that the process of sitting or squatting to go to the loo, automatically relaxes the muscles around the anus, this encourages any haemorrhoids so if you can’t go, don’t strain but get off the loo. If you need to go again in 2 minutes or 2 hours just go when you get the urge and never strain.   Brilliant advice and I wish someone had told me earlier about it.

In terms of peeing, I still get up 2-4 times a night.  Sometimes I get back to bed and the desire to pee is there in a few minutes again.  Try and drink plenty of tap water during the day (around 3 pints at least in my case) and limit intake after 6pm and see if that helps, but as mentioned above, check out with your team.

Finally, you mentioned he is getting tired. I am not surprised after the treatment he has had, where he has been bombarded with poison then hit with RT and all while under HT.  Give his body time to fight back and recover.  My suggestion would be to try and exercise each day and slowly increase what he does.  But tell him to listen to his body.  If he feels bad, just relax and recover, don’t overdo it.  Most of us have off days (both physical and mental), it happens, but I get fewer as the years go on.  You ask about his prognosis, well that’s like how long is a piece of string.  I had chemo 7 years ago and RT 6 years ago and hopefully a few more years in the tank.  Please come back if you have any questions, this forum is absolutely brilliant and the experience you and your OH have, will help others who are following in our paths.  Best wishes, David

Hi again Alfie42A , in my rush to post, I forgot to mention that if the bleeding is ever excessive (approaching half a cup or more), call 101 and get advice (as he might become anaemic). D

Thank you so much for all this helpful advice.