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Aloha Ken Vernon,
Ok, question #1 - not much is known about the prostate after EBRT as surgery is the only way to tell what the prostate would look like and surgery after EBRT does not happen much. So I'm postulating that the prostate would look like a bunch of scar tissue or just envision what would look like partially cooked meat.
As for #2 - CFS is real difficult to pin down. If you look at me, you could not tell have sleep apnea (skinny & regular exercise). But I have had CFS since before PCa, probably 20 years or more (PCa 2007). I've been using a CPAP machine for 3 nights. I feel good (no UTI) now, no naps, feel like I'm getting some work done here on the farm. Things are looking good. The delayed radiation damage that showed up April 2010 was very bad as far as energy loss + what pain management drugs do to you is worse. I've been off drugs for over 3 weeks now, WOW! In my case 7 months of mild HBOT daily use has apparently healed the soft tissue (open wound inside urethra) damage. Last Oct the uro doc installed an SPC to bypass the urethra which helped relieve the constant irritation of urine + wound. All these things have played a part in my CFS.
If at all possible, you just half to eliminate one thing at a time. I suspect that diet & exercise play a major roll in CFS, but there are so many other players (radiation, drugs, depression, worry, anxiety, lack of support, etc. ) it can be very difficult find what is causing your CFS.
I wish you luck in finding for your self what your problem or combination of problems might be.
Joe
Ken,
1. External beam radiation is "supposed" to just kill the cancer cells and not the healthy cells and that is why you get daily radiation over a period of 6 weeks. The non-cancerouse cells are supposed to be able to heal themselves over-night but the cancerous cells are more fragile to radiation. If the cancer cells die it should reduce the size of the prostate.
2. I did not find the hormonal treatment too bad but if it is a problem you can always stop. Just make sure to get monthly injections and not the 3 or 6 month injections. The hormone treatment will also reduce the size of the prostate.
Thanks for your responses. I guess I extra tiredness I'm going to have to live with. I was hoping that the prostate would be reduced in size which might ease the urgency that I have to urinate.
Ken
I am Alan's wife. He has been on hormone treatment (Zoladex) for over 3 years now. psa 95.3 gleason 9. He has never read anything about side effects of hormone therapy and he is magnificent. He took up golf and regular excercise, we eat very healthy food, plenty of fruit, veg, fish, no animal fats, quite a lot of soya products. He has maintained his weight,with hard work and good diet.His attitude is so positive ( I do the worrying)It almost seems that because he doesn't know about the side effects, he doesn't get them so bad. Yes his body hair has all gone along with his libido,but his mind is still very very strong.His flow improved in the first 3 weeks of treatment Try not to read too much about side effects, try and find a hobby which gets you out in the open air. Good luck
Alan's wife - thankyou very much for your response. That really is a great way to approach this problem and I hope I can follow suit if only in a small way. It is very encouraging.
Ken
It is good to hear a positive message about ADT. My GP believes that people should know as little as possible about potential side effects as that reduces the incidence!!
In my case I was very aware of the potential problems and ate very carefully on my first series of Zoladex, going to the gym religiously. So I maintained muscle tone and actually lost weight. I've been less through this time, so have put on a little.
What worried me considerably was the mental issues that are so often reported. This was concerning because I have a genetic dispositionto depression, having had two partculalrly serious episodes in the past. Keeping a very close watch on my mind I found that I did get a bit fuzzy in my thinking the first time around and also somewhat apprehensive about all manner of things with the odd wave of what can only be described as sadness, rather than depression. Nothing serious, nothing I couldn;t deal with.
As these issues haven't recurred on this, my second trip on Zoladex after my ADT holiday, I'm inclined to think that I was paying too much attention to myself the first time around.
Having said that, I'm not suggesting for a moment that all the men who report problemss are simply not dealing with the issues adequately. We are all different, our bodies will react in different ways and there is no doubt that some of these ways make for a very uncomfortable time. These bad effects can sometimes be alleviated by changing the medication.
