stopping treatment

On the other hand, unless you have only given us part of the story your OH would not be walking away from his only treatment. If he has had RT and 19 months HT, was that 6 months of hormones before RT and the RT was now 12 months ago? Or did he have 12 months HT before the RT which was then done earlier this year?

It depends really on what exactly has been happening with his PSA levels and whether the doctors think the RT nailed it but it may be that your OH is only on the hormones as a sort of belt & braces approach. We do have members who had RT without any hormones.

Research strongly suggests that where RT / HT are being used together with the aim of cure, the longer a man takes his hormones the better his chance of completely eradicating the cancer. But it isn't automatic so you might find that if he stops the hormones, his PSA stays blissfully low and he is considered to be cured. If on the other hand, his PSA started to rise, he might get to a point where he and his oncologist agree that it is time to go back on the hormones.

If since his RT his PSA has never really gone low, or if the onco already suspects that the RT didn't fully work, then stopping the HT might speed up the growth of the cancer cells. But stopping now does not mean he could never have treatment again and not does it mean his clock starts ticking.

Having said all that, if his idea is that stopping the HT early is going to make him feel better, he could do with a rethink maybe. As TG says, it is estimated that the side effects hang around for approximately as long as he has taken the tablets so it could be a long long time before he feels back to himself. It also seems to depend on other things; if his side effects developed very quickly then they are likely to hang around for longer, whereas if the side effects developed slowly then they abate more easily. Some side effects (like the man boobs and thickened waist) can be permanent.

SO lots for him to think about and discuss with his onco. Exactly which side effects is he finding so difficult? Is there good reason to believe those SEs would disappear if he stopped treatment or is he heading for a big disappointment? Is there anything else that will help the SEs whilst still taking the hormones? Would a different hormone be worth trying? And perhaps most important, was the RT/HT combo attempted as a curative treatment and if so, do his PSA tests suggest that it was successful. I think that once you have the answers to these questions you will be half way to a solution.

Hi thank you all for your replies sorry its been so long getting back to you, we have been dealing with the issue so to speak.

Yes I think he is clinically depressed, we always said quality and not quantity, he is 62 an age difference of 20 years, he is on prostap and cyprostat was put on provera ( we feel this was a cause of emotional breakdown) he has now stopped loads of meds too many to name as not all to do with the PCa, he has started going out and getting in touch with old friends and family (thats along story) he is better in himself and disappears for hours at a time, this is sometimes worrying but so far has always come home haha.

I think when we see onco on the 25th sept he will ask for a break from hrt as this seems to be the cause of everything the side effects however annoying are just too much and he has said he's a wimp lol......most men could deal with them the weight gain being 4 stone is not nice for anyone and he hardly eats, but also cannot exercise due to degeneration in his back, he also has asthma and peripheral vascular disease. Hot flushes are massive soooooo sweaty (meds not working to stop this) fatigue and general aches and pains in legs and hips, 

I'm really surprised to be honest at how he is not handling but i suppose unless you are in that situation you don't know.....

Thanks again this is a great forum and its great to get different perspectives on this horrid disease, for now goodbye I wish you all well x