Thread: My battle with prostate cancer continues.

Bloody good news Peter. Keep up the positive outlook I'm sure it helps.

My PSA was .05 at the end of January. This was almost 5 years after my Gleeson 9 biopsey and 3 years since I had my last treatment. My only treatment was radiation and almost 2 years of hormonal injections as the cancer was not suitable for surgical removal. I don't consider I'm a survivor, yet but it's getting very close. I believe I would not have had this outcome had I not been tested regularly and caught it early.

My very best wishes for your continued recovery

No worries, I'm completely and totally convinced that I'll lick this. Thanks for the support.
Cheers
Graeme

Good to hear your news as well Graemet.

G'day all,

I have been reading the latest PC comments with interest.

I had my RP last September. Since then I have had ongoing problems with continence - particularly blocking up and I have been to Hospital four times since my original surgery to resolve it. I think that it may be fixed now. For some of that time I had a suprapubic catheter (comes out of the bladder through the stomach and has a tap on it. This is like a relief valve if I start to block again.

Well the catheter came out last Wednesday and I am here to tell you I am as happy as a boy with to d......ks. I cannot believe how much more easily I am moving and how much better I feel.

Anyway, my PSA reading have been rising 0.1, 0.17, 0.2. So now I am having hormone therapy - not sure what to expect there (any advice?) and radiation therapy. This will happen over the next twelve months and then a review. I am walking four times a week and doing resistance exercises too to keep my muscle strength up and weight down. Have to work on the cognitive aspects now.

I am keeping really busy with work which is good and everything else a husband and father does.

Thats me for now

Cheers

Kym

Originally Posted by KymG

Anyway, my PSA reading have been rising 0.1, 0.17, 0.2. So now I am having hormone therapy - not sure what to expect there (any advice?) and radiation therapy. This will happen over the next twelve months and then a review. I am walking four times a week and doing resistance exercises too to keep my muscle strength up and weight down. Have to work on the cognitive aspects now.

I am keeping really busy with work which is good and everything else a husband and father does.

I am a regular member of a prostate Support Group. Listening to other members you may get some side effects from the hormones. If these are a problem then talk to your doctor as he can change you to another 'brand / type' and it may be OK for you. I went thru my 2 years without any real problems. Can't comment on the radiation as mine was different as I did not have a RP and had HDBT.

From the look of your PSA movement you may be on for longer than 12 months. Either way ask your doctor (specialist or GP) about calcium supplements during the treatment. I was not advised to take them and after 2 years of hormones ended up with osteoporosis. Anyway the radiation / hormonal treatment appears to have worked for me so in the end it was a good option.

The other thing I firmly believe and it was backed up by a research professor< is to keep active. He told me the people involved in his trials that did the best were those that kept active. Being positive is also a good idea as it can be beaten.

John

Originally Posted by KymG

I had my RP last September. Since then I have had ongoing problems with continence ......Anyway, my PSA reading have been rising 0.1, 0.17, 0.2. So now I am having hormone therapy - not sure what to expect there (any advice?) and radiation therapy.

Kym, you are at the stage that I was 12 months ago.

I had my prostate removed, still had incontinence problems and my PSA was increasing over a 9 month period and the doctors recommended radiation treatment and hormonal therapy and the good news is that now I'm already 6 months active cancer free.

Firstly the incontinence will go, you will learn to control it as I did. Sometimes you may still have minor leakage from stress stretching if you forget about that problem but it's very minor. As they cut both sets of muscles in your RP it takes longer to learn to cope as you only have one set of controls instead of two.

The radiation treatment in itself is not painful but can cause quite some pain especially at the end and afterwards whilst your body repairs the damage. It involved daily radiation for 7 weeks and the cumulative effects causes you to become very tired. When it starts and you need to talk pm me and I'll try to help as you go through it.

Hormonal treatment involves a 3 or 6 month injection mine is Eliguard) that tricks your brain to stop producing testosterone. This is because nearly all prostate cancer cells need testosterone for them to grow and survive. Without it most (not all) will die out and hopefully you will not have any of those that are not affected by this treatment. You will probably have this treatment for 2 to 3 years.

Of course without testosterone your body will go through menopause. This means that you may get side effects. They mainly are increased hair growth, lack of libido but as they have already cut the 2 sets of muscles it's not a problem, hot flushes which are at times a nuisance and they occur more during hot weather than cold weather, and the loss of calcium hence possible osteoporosis. It also makes you more tired and you may need a rest during the afternoon.

At my hospital they have a separate program called Mens health clinic, which in conjunction with Melbourne University measures the ongoing effects of hormonal treatment in men. This involves regular visits and blood tests and bone scans to see if it is affecting you and thus take any corrective action.

If your hospital doesn't have this I suggest that you get your GP to regular tests you for PSA, Cholestral, calcium etc and bone scans so you can take corrective action as required.

Peter.

Thanks for the replies Certainly a big help.

The side effects of Hormone Therapy initially worried me but I quickly realised that not everyone will suffer all of them. In fact most will ony suffer some and some none at all or only to a very minor degree.

The news that I get from the those I have spoken to is encouraging - many are Cancer free after their treatment.

I must say that the general feeling that I get from a forum such as this is fairly upbeat. That is good. I have been reading a forum on a website that is more oriented toward health and those with Cancer have a doom and gloom outlook.. Maybe I am naive and don't think I will be affected like others or maybe I am the eternal optimist.

I haven't mentioned anything about this treatment to the people I work with yet. They know that I have Prostate Cancer and my need further treatment but I am really hoping that I can manage it without any side effects being evident.

Peter I shall give you a hoi when the radiation treatment starts - thanks

Cheers and Beers

Kym

Kym,
I have had the lot as far as treatment goes, except chemo, and the only problems I have had arose from the cure, not the disease. RP left me incontinent and impotent and with a hernia. The incontinence is minor and is easily overcome with the lightest of women's pads, a darn sight more comfortable (and cheaper) than the male version. The impotence, well........, and the hernia I can live with.
The hormone injection is only every 6 months and is quite a hoot watching my GP mixing the stuff, he'd never finish a boat build with his epoxy mixing technique! This gives me hot flushes, mainly at night so it interrupts my sleep, but you soon get used to that.
The radiation was every day for 6 and a half weeks, but I had no skin irritation or burning, only a great tiredness in the afternoons of the last week or two. However, the pawpaw ointment they gave me for the rash I didn't have is great for any scrapes or burns I self inflict in the workshop.
Good luck, it's a lot better than letting them put you in a box. You will overcome everything!
Cheers
Graeme