Treatment

Hello William, I'm sorry to hear that you have now reached the stage of needing treatment for your prostate cancer. That said, you have had a good 10 years without treatment - as did my husband. You don't say the staging of your cancer eg what T grade , Gleason scores or secondaries (metastases) so its hard to give specific advice. I would suggest that you look up wwwprostatecancer.uk where you will find all the info about treatments for the various stages of prostate cancer and also the potential side effects.

From our own personal experience and from what others have posted on here, each and every man seems to respond differently to the hormone therapy - some get off with very minimal side effects and others don't get away so lightly. That said, I think most men are well enough to carry on with normal life - holidays (but travel insurance might be more expensive), hobbies etc. 

I am not expert enough to pass too much comment about radiotherapy but I think these days most men have 20 sessions of radiotherapy with a slightly higher dose? Perhaps worth checking whether your local hospital has the most up to date and more accurate machines or asking why they are going for the extra sessions? 

Anyway - the most common side effects of hotmone therapy seem to be: hot flushes/sweats; fatigue; man boobs and extra weight around the middle; low mood and tears. One more serious side effect is that of osteoporosis (thinning bones). My husband, unlike others, was not prescribe calcium and vitamin D supplements which might have helped prevent his osteoporosis? Another serious side effect is being pushed (perhaps over the pre-diabetic limit) into full blown diabetes. So - diet is important.

I wish you all the best in this journey and welcome to the club that nobody wants to join :)

Hello Willian (Williamccb8e9 (c8e96bf57d45406180b7e947571b43e0)) 

A warm welcome to the group although I am sorry to find you joining us.

Hormone Therapy - There are many side effects and you won't find out which you are going to get until the treatment starts however you will find fatigue becomes your new friend. With HT there is a chance you will grow a set of "man boobs" so if this worries you ask your team for medication to stop this (once you have them it's too late). Ht also thins your bones so you also need a prescription for calcium and vitamin D tablets. As for the rest, let us know and we will see what advice we have.

Radiotherapy - It's easy, the hardest bit is travelling daily and parking at the hospital.

For both treatments a good diet and keeping as fit as possible is the honest answer. i have had 3 years HT and RT and you can read my journey by clicking on my name or avatar.

Feel free to ask any questions, however trivial, you will get answers.

Best wishes - Brian.