Been a while since I posted but my brother has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and active surveillance is his chosen path. What concerns me is that he's incredibly fatigued? Should this be the case with AS. Many thanks.
Hi Pear Tree , sorry you are back again, this time for your brother. You don’t say much about his diagnosis but my first thought is that PCa at this early stage wouldn’t be a reason for fatigue. You don’t say how old he is, his weight or his general fitness level, all these are contributing factors.
I am sure others will be along, but if he is worried, I suggest a GP appointment to check his bloods etc. Best wishes. David
Can I suggest that your brother asks for a full blood test, if simply to rule out things like anaemia and thyroid issues, both of which can cause fatigue. Stress can also be a contributor.
Thank you for your reply. He's 56, just retired, non-smoker, rarely drinks, has run marathons and a generally fit chap. He's just a touch overweight but not lost any weight and looks really well. He was initially diagnosed with PIRAD 5, 2 tumours in 2 areas and things didn't look good. His biopsy conflicted with the P5 and it was downgraded to PIRAD 3 and subsequently AS. he's been fatigued for well over 12 months and this started before his prostate symptoms started. It's not got worse, as far as I'm aware, but and I know it's easy for me to say, I wish they'd do something to help his quality of life if that makes sense. I keep dropping hints about hifu treatment but likewise I have to back off too.
Hi again PT, many thanks for the update that’s useful background. I stick with my original reply. Try and get him to go to his GP and get bloods checked. As AH mentioned, lots of reasons for fatigue can be ruled out with a full blood test. I think he sounds young enough and previously active enough for the GP to take onboard. As a matter of interest, has he had a full blood test in the last year? Other things to check easily are his diet, his sleep and liquid intake. What if anything changed in his routine a year ago, when you say he first started, that might cause him to be stressed? David
He had full bloods done this time last year and they were ok. His PCa symptoms started in August and he didn't delay seeking help.
They also ran a full blood screening a few weeks ago to discount thyroid, diabetes etc but that was all as it should be.
He eats a good balanced diet, both he and his wife cook, but I will mention to them about his fluid intake. He's a coffee drinker too but maybe he thinks caffeine will help his tiredness ..... But I gave read that caffeine isn't good for PC.
I think, to be honest, I've read such a lot about guys being offered AS, have plumped for surgery and glad they had as the initial findings were wrong. I can't share that with him but his wife and I have shared that fear.
Your comment about 'a good balanced diet' reminded me of Dr Michael Moseley's program last week where the same comment was made. Fatigue was one of the issues and, once they had analysed the diet they found that changes could be made such as increasing protein, having the right balance and type of protein/ carbohydrate and fruit and veg. Also getting the gut flora into balance with the help of Greek yogurt. Maybe a dietician could check over the diet (including the things that we conveniently forget about) and see if any changes might be beneficial.
We were advised to reduce caffeine when my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer, as well as reduce dairy and replace with plant based products.
Is he getting up a lot in the night to unrinate? This sleep disturbance will cause some fatigue. I presume he is on some medication so maybe a review of that medication may also help. Caffeine will affect this too and i was on decaff tea and coffee for years before my PCa diagnosis because of bladder problems. How often does he have prostate MRI and PSA tests whilst on AS?
Of course he could just be stressed thinking about having Cancer and a general discussion about how he feels with someone whether trained consellor or not might help him.
I hope you are able to get to the bottom of his problems.
I presume it is because the specialists have directed him that way is to take a note of PSA, Gleeson,, what the MRI says or staging and if all looks low key IE tumour not near capsule edge then AS Def ok.
Next stop would be GP to get him to look at the fatigue
