Hormone therapy with radiotherapy

Good morning, though it may not feel like it at the moment. 

Sorry that your husband's PSA levels are increasing and that further treatment is needed.

It's a rotten trick.

The two links below are from Macmillan, and are aurhoratitive. They describe the treatment and the side effects. There is a lot of information on the side effects.

• https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/hormonal-therapy-for-prostate-cancer
• https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/radiotherapy-for-prostate-cancer

Almost no one gets them all.

The side effects that occur most often are the easiest to handle.

They are not all the time, especially with the hormone therapy.

That's the one I can speak to, because I am on that now. With radiotherapy still in my future.

The link below will take you to something that I have already posted about side effects, which may help, or may not, given the strange type of humour I am blessed with.

 So, side effects....what's the deal (and I mean that in a transactional sense). 

I am using this as an example because it has been my experience.

I can't speak to radiotherapy, because I haven't yet experienced that.

I think that I can say that they're are not as bad as I expected them to be. It is probable that the Radiotherapy ones won't be either, although that is an adventure to come.

In my case I had to relax into it, and remind myself that the disease is being treated and that there is a good possibility of it being completely cured.

Either way, I get more life and mostly feel good whilst doing it.

Other people will tell you more about these matters, and they will be better at it, because they are more experienced and knowledgeable.

Look up, not down, and, in the main at least, get your information from Macmillan, Cancer Research and Prostate Cancer UK.

I hope things get easier soon.

Hi SM

Sorry to hear about your OH.

Radiotherapy not normally a problem, I had it without major issues. HT can cause more problems but not always major and they do go away usually when the HT stops.

I don't suppose he has had a scan to try and identify where the rogue cells are?

Although may not show as PSA still very low.

When is the RT supposed to start and how long is the HT for?

Salvage Radiotherapy makes it still potentially curable so good luck and let us know how it goes

Steve 

Hi SM,

I can see we are sharing Insomnia? Your post was 6 hours ago unless you are on a different time zone.

You have two brilliant replies already. I can add from our experience. My husband diagnosed back in November 2023 and since then he is on two types of HT and finished a course of 6 sessions rt 36gy. You can click on our profile to see the diagnosis and the journey.

He is doing well, very active to combat the fatigue the only way is to fight it with physical activity. His sport is swimming.

He has hot flushes but it is tolerable. The bottom line, our life is almost normal and we are doing today exactly what we did last year before the diagnosis. Life is good and we are looking forward to our holiday which will start today so this is my last post for a while!

I wish you well and keep in touch. This form here is brilliant and people here are so kind, caring and generous!

Lots of love

Dafna

Hi all,

Thankyou firstly for the wonderful sense of community! Insomnia, yes. 
It sounds as if exercise and fitness really help, which is good as he loves both. That should be a constant. 
I will have a look at the links kindly posted here today, many thanks new friends.

Hello Suffolkmum .

Sorry to hear about this hiccup but it sounds like you have a pro active oncologist who is trying to achieve the best long term outcome for your husband as there is evidence that hitting the recurrence hard and fast before the PSA reaches 0.2 following a prostatectomy gives the best results. 

My husband is on lifetime hormone therapy, whereas I expect your husband will be on it for a limited period and things should return to near normal once it is finished with. I expect the HT to have the greater effect with the potential for fatigue and loss of strength, both of which he can mitigate with exercise. Loss of libido and erections are fairly common so it is important to maintain penile health from the start which will also help with recovery once treatment ends. Hot flushes - help is available. Basically don't suffer and ask for help as we can point you in the direction of either to help yourself or get professional help when needed. The hormone therapy can cause bone thinning so ask the experts whether a calcium and vitamin D supplement is advised.

My husband has also had radiotherapy to the whole of the pelvic area and had very few side effects, either short or long term. You will be given guidance before you start but the main thing is to try and get into a regular routine for the bowels beforehand. Also I would suggest the pelvic floor exercises which your husband was probably advised to do before and after the prostatectomy - if you need help you can download the Squeezy app for guidance.

A lot of the information on the net can be fairly old plus it is human nature to report bad news, but not so often the good so stay positive and ask any questions no matter how small or silly they might seem - we have all done it.

Good Morning Suffolkmum 

A warm welcome to the online Macmillan Prostate Community - I see you have already received some great replies.

I have been through both HT and RT - I am 33 months into 36 months of HT - your husband's HT will be nowhere near that long!

In all honesty I think I have had most side effects of HT and breezed through 20 fractions of RT with just a little bit of fatigue and a few extra visits to the toilet.

For me the two major side effects have been fatigue (keep as fit as possible) and hot sweats (cured by sage tablets) but as others have said, you don't get them all. Apart from the usual visits to the GP or Hospital and of course the visits for Radiotherapy my life has continued as normal, so your husband should be fine. (you can read my journey by clicking on my avatar - I have had a few issues but not HT/RT related).

I hope this helps - anything else, however trivial ask away.

Best wishes - Brian.

Many thanks everyone,

It feels extremely positive to be part of this forum. 
Many thanks everyone.

SM

Hi Suffolk mum

I am also on Hormone injections and Hormone tablets. Finished my 20 sunbed sessions in November 23. No real side effects from the RT but a few with the Hormone tablets/injections. Weight gain was the worst, supported by man boobs and a belly.

I have recently completed a course run by Prostate cancer research called 'Remove'.  It teaches you the importance of exercise and diet.  Over the 12 week course i lost a stone in weight and now feel fitter and better within myself.

If you need more info check out the PCR web page or facebook page.

There is life beyond all this, so best wishes with all the treatment.

Regards

Mike