Chemotherapy is a frightening prospect and I didn't feel that there was enough emotional support from medics prior and during the treatment. The reality of the treatment is that your body changes rapidly and energy levels drop very quickly during treatment and this is cumulative as the treatment progresses. I would advise anyone who is being offered Chemotherapy to take it as it is worth the side effects, but don't sit in silence if you are worried about the effects. You will need emotional support so seek this out in advance. Maggie's centres are fantastic for this and i cant recommend them enough. Even if you are not the type of person who feels comforted or comfortable speaking to others, the people in these centres will make you feel at ease straight away and give a good place to vent your fears or generally just seek more information or advise on your diagnosis or treatment and what to expect. I found this service comforting and it also gave me a place to speak about my fears and worries as I processed just what Prostate cancer and the treatment meant to me, without the fear of burdening my family.
Chemotherapy stopped my daily life in its tracks, but only for the duration of the treatment. Tiredness, fatigue, weakness, breathlessness, rapid body changes, chemo brain (yes it's a real thing) and being immuno-compromised impacted every part of my normal routine. However every routine is quickly replaced by another and although it didn't seem so at the time the treatment was quickly forgotten once complete and I had recovered from its effects. By far the largest impact of this treatment was emotional rather than physical though. I struggled with the prospect of Chemotherapy while still grappling with the reality of the diagnosis before the treatment even started. I felt lost for the first couple of treatments as everything happened so fast and the changes in my physical and mental state were immediate. I generally have a good happy go lucky attitude to life, and I still have so I really didn't expect to feel such an emotional burden from the chemotherapy.
Yes
Chemotherapy was tough, but it worked to reduce my tumours and it has given me an extended period of good health where I can make some extra memories with my family. I have metastatic small cell Prostate cancer which is hormone resistant so chemotherapy is the only treatment open to me to extend my life. I will be forever grateful to it for giving me extra time. As I see it my life race ended upon diagnosis, but chemotherapy is allowing me to do a lap of honour.
Keep active and exercise even when you really don't feel like it. Your body will change quite quickly and it's easy to let that get to you, but don't lose sight of the fact that this treatment is otherwise keeping you healthy. It's worth it!
The whole cancer thing is an emotional journey anyway so it's hard to say whether Hormone therapy itself adds to this. What I would say is talk to anyone who will listen, and talk often about how you are feeling and any worries or fears that you have. If you are like me and don't like burdening your family with how you feel then find your local Maggie's centre and speak to the people there. They are great. I also joined a Prostate cancer group at Maggie's which i find is a safe and useful place to speak about my own journey and feelings and listen to others. I don't normally 'do groups', but I really get a lot from this one. The knowledge and experience of other members helps answer questions as they arise and gives me somewhere to vent without affecting my friends or family.
My biggest symptom is rapid weight gain. Since starting treatment 14 months ago I have gained 3 stone in weight. I admit to being an emotional eater (I eat when stressed) but have never ever put on this much weight ever. It has plateaued now but it is going to take a lot of work to get back down to where I was.
Yes
I have metastatic small cell Prostate cancer which is hormone resistant as well as standard Prostate cancer. The hormone therapy has seen my PSA drop from 123 to 0.5, so it is doing a good job on the standard Prostate cancer and Chemotherapy has helped reduce the tumours on my Prostate, Spine, Liver and lymph nodes. All together the treatments are giving me a little extra time to spend with my family for which I will be eternally grateful.
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