Prostate cancer and work vs. retirement

My husband had surgery mid August and was back to full time work in 2 weeks. He also has 2 start-ups on the side which require more work that "regular work". He turned 70 in October and he never plans to retire - he LOVES working and in this situation his creative work helps him keep "cancer" thoughts on a back burner.

He had to travel just about 6 weeks after surgery and he had no problem traveling. He, however, had very fast and uneventful post surgery recovery, so everybody is different and unfortunately nobody knows of how their body will react to either RP or RT.

It is great that you have options of either retire or not : ))) ! So - just take it easy and make one step at the time and act accordingly depending of how you feel. Maybe you will feel great but still decide to stop working and just enjoy your free time, or you might find that retirement is just too of a slow pace for you and would miss your colleagues and working environment if it is fulfilling for you. Maybe you will find some part-time option OR start a new career altogether : ))) - doing something that you always wished to do but were postponing.

Wishing you super successful treatment in the future : ))) and I am sure that it will be as such since you caught your PC early.

@jeffmarc That’s amazing that you were able to continue to work so much with all that you went through! You must have a lot of stamina. Thanks for sharing your story. Yes, I have several steps to go before I know how this will affect my work life, if at all. It really helps to hear about the experiences of others, even though we are all different. Thanks for sharing.

@kenk1962 I’m sorry you went through that, and could see myself feeling the same. I definitely need to be “on” when working/traveling and would probably have a similar experience if I have to go through ADT, etc. Thank you for sharing your story. It’s all very helpful.

@northoftheborder I just read your profile and saw that you were at stage 4 at such a young age. It’s amazing that you were able to work at all, especially in such a demanding field. You’re fortunate that healthcare is not a concern in Canada. For many of us in the US, it is the most significant reason for waiting until 65 (gov’t Medicare eligibility) to retire. Congrats on overcoming so many odds, and thank you for sharing your story.

@surftohealth88 It’s amazing that your husband is able to do so much into his 70’s and while facing PC. I’m sure it helps him to have such a supportive partner. I could see how work could provide a good distraction from “doomscrolling” the internet about cancer. I agree with taking one step at a time and that is generally my attitude too. Sometimes I get ahead of myself, but am able to bring myself into check. No one knows how much time we have left on this earth. It’s important to make the most of every day and not get too hung up on tomorrow. Thank you for the encouragement and helpful reminders.

@stldadof4 If you need ADT, then I do believe it's beneficial. Yes, it's tough, but it can be quite helpful for radiation patients. I am glad I was on it and believe it made my radiation treatments more effective.

In my situation my PSA went from 8.1 to 1.9 30 days after starting ADT. After another 30 days my PSA declined further going from 1.9 to 1.1. Then I began my five SBRT radiation treatments and my PSA bottomed out at 0.1 within another 30 days.

So...yes, ADT is tough on you. But the good news is that it is even tougher on the cancer and that makes it worthwhile.

I was a practicing dentist and opted for surgery for a few reasons - one of them being that surgery was more practical with my schedule.
I took 3 weeks off and then went back to work. Radiation (in my case) would have been many visits an hour or more each way - totally not work friendly.
Ironically, after I retired, I did need 25 sessions of radiation due to a recurrence of the cancer. But since there was no work involved, it was much less stressful than it could have been had I still been employed.
Phil

@heavyphil that is helpful perspective, and makes a lot of sense the way you balanced your work as a dentist and treatment. Working in healthcare probably allowed you to be more pragmatic about all of this. I'm sorry for the recurrence. Hopefully all of that is behind you now. Thank you for sharing your experience.

I'm still working and had my RARP in the spring. I took two weeks off to have surgery and then returned to work. My PC was contained to the Prostate and the path report and PSA's have confirmed this so far. I currently don't need further treatment. I did require some PT and took vacation time for that. I did not tell work that I was having surgery for PC just that I needed some time off for surgery. Don't rush to return to work. I should have taken a few more days off after my RARP. I got myself a cushion from Amazon that helps post op swelling and put it in my work chair. This helped the swelling/tenderness etc. I plan on Retiring closer to 66-67 and I have a few more years left. If my cancer reoccurs then I will naturally reevaluate my plans.

@stldadof4
It really wasn’t an issue of stamina. I just wasn’t in any pain so why not get out there and do something?. When it came to radiation, I never had any side effects. If I had, I might not have been able to go to work every day, but I just felt normal after the radiation, every time.

I know that some of the people that had radiation would sit in their cars to get rest after they had it, because it made them tired, but I just never felt that.

I’ve never had fatigue from ADT, Some people just don’t get the fatigue problem. I have always had a lot of energy. I sure did get a lot of other side effects from ADT.