How do you cope with the side effects of prostate cancer treatment?
Many factors can lead to side effects, including the type of treatment you've had, other health care conditions, risk factors, and age. We want to know the worst side effect(s) for you and how you cope.
always tired , no energy , complete loss of sex , my whole life has changed and not for the better
you say that you were able to resume having sex a month after your prostatectomy? I had my prostate removed in 2020 and haven't had a single election. I would say that your surgeon is gifted and you are very fortunate. I had my prostate removed over 31 years ago and haven’t had an erection since! But I also had a top surgeon and am grateful to be alive!! No post surgical treatment whatsoever!!
I became severely depressed after realizing I would never have sex again (endangering my marriage) and having to wear adult diapers 24/7. I also had to stop working due to the terrible incontinence.
will be a year this coming month , very sorry to hear this. At the risk of mentioning something the other 63 responders have suggested ..... have you considered working with a pelvic floor specialist to improve continence?
Matt
I was lucky. The major side effect for me was very frequent urination. Other than that, i never noticed much difference. Sex is different but not impossible in my situation. Find a physician that will be honest with you. Better to be alive and different than dead. My brother and I went through this at the same time. Talking helped quite a bit.
I had 18 radiation treatments and 6 hormone injections. I am also dealing with.a disease called DISH. Hi
. I don't know how long each of your shots was expected to last, but six is a good number and can cause incontinence. How long has it been since your last one? Some men have found that it lasts significantly longer that originally expected.
Concerning the DISH, I have some knowledge of arthritic conditions (my wife, Kelly, was diagnosed with a severe form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis at age two and has used a wheelchair since childhood). I know DISH can range widely from no discernible symptoms to pretty severe pain, with not much in the way of treatment. Hope the accompanying bone spurs have not been too much of an issue. Wishing you the best. Richard (Team Member)
I did not have side effects.
What is SBRT? Hi
and . You both had the same question (illustrating it is a pretty common one), so I'm including both of you. SBRT stands for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy. This article from our editorial team discusses the various types of radiation therapy, including SBRT: https://prostatecancer.net/treatment/radiation-therapy. This article from the Mayo Clinic goes into further detail: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/sbrt/pyc-20446794. Hope this helps and please feel free to ask additional questions. Best, Richard (Team Member)
