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Radiotherapy and Tiredness

User
Posted 09 Sep 2023 at 14:36

I am 71 years of age and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February 2023. I am 5 months into my hormone replacement treatment, in tablet form, and halfway through my 20 days of radiotherapy. Everything seems to be going ok, but I am extremely tired. I assume this is a side effect of this treatment? 

User
Posted 09 Sep 2023 at 20:56

Yes, this is very common. The Hormone Therapy (not hormone replacement therapy!) tends to cause fatigue, and so does the radiotherapy, so you're getting a double whammy just at the moment. Exercise is the way to counteract the fatigue caused by hormone therapy, but you probably won't be able to start that until you've recovered from the fatigue caused by the radiotherapy unless you're already doing it.

No one is quite sure why, but one contributory factor is that both the hormone therapy and the radiotherapy cause a reduction in Hemoglobin levels, pulling you towards anemia. Additionally, the radiotherapy does damage which your body needs to heal from, and that consumes resources from your body. You should recover from the radiotherapy side of this within a couple of months.

User
Posted 09 Sep 2023 at 21:11

Many thanks for that reply. Really interesting . Much obliged. 👍

 
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