Which procedure ?

Hi,

Just diagnosed is never an easy time.  There is a lot to take in and accept in your mind.  Although most men are cured for their lifetime except for the worry of having to be checked regularly and any side effects, if there are any.

I had the operation so can't really answer your question.  Although I saw RT and hormones as a long treatment, perhaps six months to a year.  Also needing a long time to know if it worked, perhaps another year.  Then to have the potential of longer term side effects, perhaps 5-10 years, possibly affecting the colon and erectile function.  That is looking on the downside.

Each case and each person is different but I was never worried by my leakage problems and always felt they'd go away quickly.   Diapers sounds like nappies but they're small pads and I never had a problem wearing them.  No-one knew as far I know and they were warm in winter.  I always felt fortunate to be offered the operation.

Good luck,
Peter

Edited by member 15 Sep 2021 at 23:18  | Reason: Not specified

I went down the HT/RT route (strongly recommended, in my case) and found it all very tolerable. 6 months HT prior to RT, seven weeks of RT, and another year of HT after that. No dramatic side-effects.

Everyone reacts differently to HT; in my case, when I first started taking it, I had difficulty in concentrating on things for a couple of months, but that cleared up, the expected complete loss of libido, some weight gain, and the HT made me sleep like a log (a benefit!).

In terms of the RT, really nothing for the first month of treatment, then an increasing urgency to pee and passing mucus from the rear end as the radiation irritated the bowel and bladder. Side-effects generally peak about two weeks after RT ends. For me, the bladder issues returned to normal about a month after RT ended. Bowel issues took longer to settle down, but mainly ok within 3 months and entirely so within a year.

The only permanent side-effect is that the radiation makes the prostate swell up, which commonly restricts urine flow. A prescription for Tamsulosin entirely sorts that out, though. I'll be on that for the rest of my life.

It wasn't too awful at all. Certainly nothing to worry about. Finished RT in March 2019 (ie two and a half years ago) and everything is absolutely fine now.

Best wishes,

Chris

Edited by member 16 Sep 2021 at 06:57  | Reason: Not specified

I and three of my mates all had PCa at the same time, followed by surgery. Three of them had post-operative recurrence of cancer and had to have RT/HT subsequently.

We are all doing fine now, 3 1/2 years later.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.