worried family

Thank you Dave for your reply.  My worry is that he had had hip and groin pain for sometime and been told to treat it with over the counter pain meds. He was also told to continue with his golf.  He used to do the walk across the course three times a week, he’s now using a buggy.  I have read that that could mean there are metases in that area even though the cancer is contained. It’s hard not to worry about him. 

Thank you for your reply Dave.

Hi Debbie,

Bone scan is pretty standard practice just to make sure there is no spread, better safe than sorry.

I had radiotherapy for 4 weeks which finished in May, and I wouldn’t worry about it. For me the HT is far worse than RT. The Radiotherapy team will guide him through everything, I found them absolutely wonderful…so supportive and understanding, they know what you’re going through. I had to use an enema for 10 days and it was no issue. Because I live more than 30 mins from the hospital, I drove(my wife came some of the time)  to the hospital, reported in and checked they were running on time(Important!), locked myself in one of the toilets and used the enema. I just stayed in the toilet until it worked(as advised), it makes it much less stressful knowing you don’t have to rush to the loo! I also emptied my bladder as much as possible.

Coming out of the loo I then drank the required amount of water and just waited to be called. I tried to keep occupied(I wrote a poem about my journey🤣) which kept my mind of needing a pee. If your dad is struggling to hold on, let the staff know and they will advise. 
I found it helps if your times are roughly the same each day as your body gets into a routine(your bowels and bladder).

If you have a journey home by car I would recommend buying a pee bottle just in case you can’t stop. You can get them on Amazon. I also carried a towel and some wipes in case I had an urgent need, but that only happened once….I think the security of knowing you’ve got a backup helps you hold on!

I wish your dad all the luck with his treatment and think he is very lucky to have you by his side.

Derek

I've no tips but that sounds good Debbie.   At 80 there is a risk they think you're not up to the treatment or might not live long enough to make it worthwhile.   They must think he'll last a long time.

Even if it they didn't give him curative treatment i.e. radiotherapy,  the treatments he could have, hormones and similar, could see him through to 85, 90 or more.  As you're no doubt aware regular psa tests will be needed now starting at 3 monthly, then 6 monthly, with an appointment to see a doctor. Then they make them less regular with phone calls after about 3 years.   All the best Peter

Thank you so much.  All this information helps ease my mind :)