Mark's Story

Ethnicity
White British
Age
70-79
Work
Retired
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Geography
East Midlands
Relationship status
Married/In a Civil Partnership

Hormone Therapy (injections)

Tips and advice for any bladder or bowel side effects of treatment

Before and after prostatectomy be sure to use and act on all the information given you regarding pelvic floor exercises. If bad bladder incontinence persists a year after your operation go back to your doctor/consultant.

Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment

This is all irrelevant for me as I had a non-nerve sparing operation and the hormone injections took away my libido, so effectively I have no sexual function/interest.

Tips and advice for any physical side effects of treatment

All of the side effects of hormone injections are a lot worse at the start but gradually they either get better or you simply get used to them. The main problem I have is not shown here i.e. feeling very emotional at certain trigger points (seeing old friends, friends dying or being diagnosed with cancer, upsetting news stories on the television).

Tips and advice for any mental and emotional side effects of treatment

See previous section - I didn't know this question was going to be asked next so answered it in previous section. My family and friends know this is a problem for me and are very supportive. Do not be afraid to show your emotion - it will be hard to supress it, so let it happen and move on until the next time - it does get better.

How this treatment impacted my life the most

I simply remind myself that it is infinitely better to be alive and where I am today than to have left diagnosis until it was too late. Information is the key - I knew nothing of the prostate or proatate cancer until the doctor dropped the bombshell. From then on I joined a local support group and got as much information as I could at each stage of the (ongoing) treatment.

If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?

Not sure

Why did I give this answer?

I don't realistically think I had any other option than to have had the operation given the advanced stage of my cancer. I often wonder if I had paid for the operation privately whether the surgeon would have had more time to try and avoid cutting/removing my erectile nerves - but it is irrelevant now.

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