With Hormone therapy can I continue swimming (1500 3/4 times per week), walking (6km per day)

Only a very few people find HT completely debilitating, probably less than 2%. At the other end probably as many as 10% barely notice they are on HT.

Some people consider exercise to be essential on HT to prevent problems: I don't, but that's my choice. I can't imagine you will have any great problem. My guess is you will lose peak performance, so if you are doing these exercises at a leisurely pace now you won't notice a difference, if you are doing them competitively now you are going find yourself dropping a few places.

I can see no problem with fasting. I think your chances of getting diabetes with a BMI of 21 doing exercise and fasting is minimal.

If you have metastatic cancer there is a risk of bone fractures.

My opinion on diet is eat what you want, when you want. In the old days you could wear a hair shirt and practice self flagellation, now you can just give up cream doughnuts. Either way it seems to be pointless symbolism.

There may be an argument you should have changed your diet 30 years ago. Maybe changing your diet now will stop you getting cancer when you are 97, but it won't change what you have now.

Hi again,

Let's be honest mate you are super fit. I've never been that fit in my life.

However, until I was in my early fifties, I was running 5 miles every day, and doing 5 x 80 sets of press ups daily. I had the exercise bug, it was like a drug. If I missed a 5 mile run one day, I'd run 10 miles the following day to make up for it. 

Exercise is addictive, apparently the natural  endorphins produced by it, are more powerful than opiates?

Fortunately my physical exertions, were stopped by other medical issues, prior to the onset of prostate cancer. So no matter how much I hate this despicable disease, I can never blame it for turning me into the slovenly slob I now am.

Initially, I really missed the huge buzz from exercise, but have gradually come to accept that there are more important things in life than BMI and how fast I can do things.

As for diet,  apparently I shouldn't be drinking alcohol or coffee and tea and cutting out meat and should be drinking gallons of pomegranate juice and shovel fulls of spinach. If that's the case do I want to live to be a hundred?

Adrian

Edited by member 05 Jan 2024 at 23:19  | Reason: Not specified

Thank you for your perspective and it's interesting and I assume that people when they embark on hormone therapy have a psychological change which can perhaps prompt them to be motivated by other endeavors because that is a major thing when hormone therapy takes place or kicks in after a few months.

With the lack of testosterone induced by hormone therapy I assume that men then develop other areas in their brain which motivate them differently in their new lives as cancer patients.

Fortunately, I love reading and learning new languages so even though I'm retired now my days are always filled with these hobbies,  including exercise,  and if I do in fact have to do hormone therapy, then,  as you say,  I will have to accept a lowering of my  expectations with regard to performance because I still have that in me and every time I swim,  I use my stopwatch and I try to set time goals.

In spite my age of 67,  in my local pool I'm always in the fast lane and very few individuals can keep up with me for 1500 meters or even one or two lengths but that might be a reflection on the fact that most people who swim for exercise don't really know how to swim properly,  technique wise,  and by the way that's not a criticism but just an observation.

Swimming is an extreme technique sport and even someone who is not that fit but who has the proper technique will beat someone who has good cardiovascular fitness but poor technique. It's kind of a unique sport in that sense where technique trumps fitness in some ways. 

Sorry for the digression from the original point of the post on this forum. 

Edited by member 05 Jan 2024 at 23:24  | Reason: Not specified

You need two types of exercise while on hormone therapy:

1) Resistance exercise to maintain muscles and cardio fitness.

2) Exercise which shocks/stresses bones to maintain bone density (together with Calcium and Vitamin D).

Swimming and cycling are excellent for 1) providing you are putting in a reasonable effort. They are both useless for 2), so you should also look to do some other exercise for bone density.

Jogging or brisk walking are good for both. Weight lifting can be good for 1) and/or 2) depending. You may find some physio-lead gym classes aimed at cancer patients and they would be good for both too. There are specific gym exercises such as stamping on the floor for 2).

Hi

Yes, you can exercise on HT and as many have said, it will probably help.  I was diagnosed early 2022 and continue to row 40 to 50km / week on the row erg.

However ... You will have lost your testosterone! So your times will get slower and you will feel more tired. At least you can still enjoy your sport. Also I've found it near impossible to keep my weight down to pre therapy levels. This is with the same diet and exercise as before.

I've got metastatic prostate cancer so on HT for life probably. Consequently, had an orchidectomy and I'm on apalutamide. I shied away from chemo and RT for qol reasons. The other major issues you will need to consider are regular hot flushes, which aren't fun and a loss of any libedo.

From what Andy says it sounds like climbing steps(and coming down) would be very good for both 1 and 2.

If it turns out that you do have cancer .. and if you then decide to have curative HT with radiotherapy or are indeed metastatic, you might enjoy reading Irun's posts on here or even his book, Dead Man Running (real name Kevin Webber). Since his incurable diagnosis in 2014 with a prognosis of 2 years, he has completed endless ultra-marathons and endurance races (including while he was having chemo), raised £300k for PCUK and was awarded a BEM by the Queen.

I don’t blame you wishing to avoid ADT. I thought me knees were getting a little better so today I went on a 26 mile ebike ride. Nothing strenuous, just along some of the many cycle tracks here in Fuerteventura. They were ok at the time although legs a little tired because I hadn’t been out in the UK recently,  but tonight my knees are aching like hell. Tomorrow I’m going into the freezing pool in our complex….with my wetsuit on❄️❄️❄️ Let’s see if regular swimming can help🤞

I’m not giving up but at times the aches really get you down😟

Derek