Should I come off HT at 2 years?

Email this conversation Print this conversation

User

Posted 29 Apr 2018 at 09:35

Hi, I am a new member but am reaching the end of my treatment. I am 70 years old but always felt young until all this.

I have had RT and Brachytherapy and am coming up to 2 years of HT.

I want to come off the HT and try and get my libido back. Is this likely?

I am supposed to be doing 3 years of HT and am being told it will give me a 10% better chance of the cancer not returning. However I have read there is hardly any difference between 2 and 3 years.

What is the percentage chance of it coming back anyway?

Anyone had experience?

User

Posted 29 Apr 2018 at 12:40

It is pot luck - if you stop early and then it comes back, you will never know whether the extra year would have made a difference. Some oncos only recommend 6 or 9 months; some prefer 2 or 3 years; some men have brachytherapy/external RT without any HT at all!

You need to discuss it with your onco or, if you have one, your clinical nurse specialist. If you are determined to stop, they can’t stop you but they will hopefully give you clear reasons / data for continuing. Some men would be impatient to stop at 2 years because that is the only way of finding out whether the treatment was successful. In the end, if your cancer did come back later, you would simply go back on the hormones.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

Email this conversation Print this conversation

Join the online community now.

Click through to become a member and gain access to support, information and real time replies.