The side effect which has bothered me most isn't listed here - and that is production of mucus in the bowels which leaks out constantly and is still doing so three months after radiotherapy ended. I'm hoping it will stop and a MacMillan nurse has told me to expect it to continue for six months beyond the end of treatment.
The sense that you are getting the cancer treated, and the bond you build up with the radiographers, means that during the treatment itself I was pretty upbeat and positive. The extent to which the symptoms get worse for up to a month after treatment finished took me aback and I found it difficult to cope with without feeling low. That was the hardest part, followed by the long 'tail' of some side effects which seem to drag on for a dishearteningly long time.
Not sure
For the reasons given above. I realise in retrospect that it is very hard to properly weigh the risks and probability of side effects associated with different treatments. Initially I wanted Brachytherapy but it took months to (a) find a centre which offered it and (b) then be told that my bladder history meant it would not be the right treatment for me, so I came to Radiotherapy a little on the 'rebound'. I wonder now whether I would have been better opting for Radical Prostatectomy at the outset, but I still don't feel I can properly weigh the risk/benefits of either option. Maybe if my ongoing side effects do clear up after six months post treatment I'll feel more positive about the choice I made, but right now I am ambivalent about it.
The biggest effect was the impact of physical changes and fatigue. I'm of an age where a shrunken penis was less of an issue but the fatigue and general fuzziness was a struggle.
Yes
It was necessary for the Radiotherapy to work best so if I opted for that again I'd have the Hormone injections.
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