Radiation therapy effects: Can it cause brain fog & memory issues?

@rogerbid59
Are you just getting radiation or radiation and hormone treatments?

There are common side effects from radiation that you can research and also talk to your R/O and urologist about. Radiation therapy affects all of us differently but some side effects are more common than others.

If you are taking hormones (I did not just radiation) the side effects will be quite different, and additional side effects than just radiation. It could possibly be from hormone treatments not the radiation, but you need to address this with your R/O and or urologists. Do you have a urologist? Ask him or her about what you are experiencing. Don't keep your mouth shut, speak up and let your radiologist know you are upset about lack of concern.

On the mental health side. You are going through a major medical treatment. Radiation's common side effects include fatigue. The treatments affect all of us differently. Your stress level and anxiety could be quite high causing BP to go up. I know my wife experiences some dizziness when her BP goes up and down.

The dizzy spells should be addressed. I know you are going through a lot of stress and anxiety but be proactive about your symptoms and get answers.

@nole88
Did your husband have just radiation or did he also have hormone treatments? The side effects are very different.

Radiation treatments have common side effects you can research. But remember having prostate cancer and going through radiation treatments can cause anxiety, stress, that can affect how someone feels not just the recognized side effects radiation damage does.

I have read other posters give there side affects from hormone treatments. Some have serious side affects and some minor. I did not have hormone so I cannot comment on my experience with them.

If your husband had hormone treatments (I did not) there are very different and possible side affects that can be experienced beyond the common side affects of just radiation. It is important to talk to your R/O and urologist about this.

Maybe talk to husband and see what his anxiety/stress level is and maybe asked to be referred to a psychiatric team to look at his symptoms and maybe have counseling or some great anxiety/stress medications available.

Remember your husband case is unique to him and how he will react to treatments. And what happens to others or how they responded may not be experienced by your husband and or different reactions. That is why to get specific advise from your medical team and your husband's specific case.

I have been on MCC for 2 years now and have not read another post with this symptom. My suggestion is to keep working with your medical team to find out what is causing this and working with your medical team for applicable treatment. Good luck!!

I recently completed 38 radiation treatments 1 month ago and finished 6 months of orgovyx 2 weeks ago. My side effects from radiation were mostly fatigue and still are, more now than when I was in the middle of my treatments. The orgovyx effects will be with me for several more months, more hot flashes now than ever before ( maybe that is what is being felt), joint pain in my legs some days is overwhelming especially since I never stopped working, memory failure for stupid things like where I put my tape measure, some days I can sleep fine others not good at all. For me the worst side effects were definitely from the orgovyx, it did take a week or two to get my eating back to normal and bathroom stuff straighten out.

When I finished my radiation my doctor did tell me i would not be back to normal right away
I would absolutely ask your doctor, I had lots of questions for mine

I had seven weeks of radiation and didn’t find it caused any fatigue at all. I was not on hormone therapy at the time. Many people on the hormone therapy report, serious fatigue issues, Others don’t have it so bad or at all.

It could be the radiation that’s causing your fatigue, but orgovyx is a major culprit.

Same thing. 28 radiation treatments and Eligard. Extreme burning when urinating, and several
episodes of full retention, a few episodes of diarrhea out of the clear blue. Same response from
the urologist and oncologist! "We've never had another patient with these extreme symptoms".
I've heard that several times. After radiation ended they've been little help.

Could very well be, I was told just because I was not taking the medication any longer it would still be in my system for several months. I had no side effects from it for 2 or 3 months then whammo here they are

It’s not that the medicine is in your system. Testosterone doesn’t recover right away. It could take many months for some people even if they have been on Orgovyx.

I had a little bit of this when I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer, before beginning any treatments at all. I had EXTREME fear and anxiety, which overshadowed most everything else in my life, i.e. it was hard to concentrate on anything when all I could think about was having cancer. It definitely got worse with ADT but (and I'm not a doctor) being worried or anxious about something can affect concentration on other things.

I had 35 rounds of salvage radiation that finished in May 2022. I also started ADT (Lupron, Abiraterone, Predisone) In April of 2022. I haven't been the same since. During radiation, I had extreme fatigue and pain. The pain felt like a severe sunburn on the inside of the lower abdomen. Today, nearly two years since the treatment, I still have extreme fatigue and sunburn-like pain on the inside where it was radiated. The pain comes and goes depending on how much I exert myself. Also, notice it when sitting (driving, flying, etc.) for extended periods (4+ hours).

After a few weeks of radiation, I started feeling dizzy when dismounting from the treatment machine platform. Blood pressure would spike, as well.