RT + ADT

I didn't have any side effects from radiation. For the record, mine was directed at the prostate bed. ADT(as you know) can cause pretty bad ones. Keep up the walking and other exercises. That will definitely help going forward! Best of luck to you!!!

Doug

Did you have any treatment before the radiation?

I had around eight weeks of salvage radiation 3 1/2 years after my surgery. I had it early in the morning and went right to work after, never even noticed it. They are now reducing the number of sessions, but increasing the amount of radiation in each session. That seems to cause some urinary issues for a lot of people. Those issues only last a few months and taking flowmax seems to resolve the problems for most people.

Some of the people that had radiation at the same time I did tell me that it really made them tired and they had to sit in their cars and recover before they could drive home.

Sometimes people have even more severe side effects, but they are not common. Having a barrier like SpaceOAR, Barrigel, or BioProtect can prevent rectal issues that cause some people to have to go multiple times a day or have severe diarrhea.

I had 28 sessions of proton radiation (during April-May 2021), SpaceOAR Vue, and 6 months of hormone therapy.
After every radiation session, on the way home I would first stop by the gym for 1-1/2 hours of weightlifting; on alternating days I would either swim laps for 35-45 minutes or jog a 5K. (No fatigue at all; but, slept well due to the ramped up exercise regimen.)

I only had 1 day of adverse side-effects during my 28 sessions. On the 3rd day of treatment, I had urinary issues. My RO told me that with some men there’s an inflammatory response to the radiation, and if that inflammation is near the urethra can cause the issues that I was experiencing. He recommended that I take 2 Tamsulosin/day for the remainder of the treatments. Everything cleared up by the next day; I haven’t had any issues since.

My wife later told me that if she hadn’t known I was undergoing radiation treatments, she wouldn’t have realized it from any change in me. The short amount of time that I was gone each day for treatment were no different than any other time when I simply left to go shopping or to the gym.

As for the hormone therapy side-effects, they were greatly minimized by following a rigorous resistance-training exercise program. (I only experienced low libido, muscle atrophy, and mild warm flashes.)

You’ll do well with your radiation. Just lay still and let them do all the heavy lifting.

@brianjarvis What do you consider to be appropriate "resistance training" ? When I get home form work, I work in an office so I am sedentary, I play Wii games for 1/2 hour to stretch along with 90 pushups and 100 situps every night. I was beginning to hit a "wall" while riding my stationary bike, my thighs would ache but, it seems I have crossed that point and overall, feel pretty good. TY for the response

@jeffmarc No other treatment other than Barrigel 02/19/26 for the RT. The Orgovyx side effects have been slight for the most part, loss of libido, ED. After the Barrigel placement, I felt really uncomfortable for about 3 weeks, also constipation and a constant feeling of being full as if I had eaten a full meal.
Thank you for your help

@csimadera1 There has been much reported on the physical benefits of resistance-training exercise while on ADT. Here are just a few that I’ve bookmarked:

> A paper on The Benefits of Exercise During Hormone Therapy: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54c68ac6e4b06d2e36a4b8c9/t/55cb7275e4b0d97ae7ff60af/1439396469154/The+Benefits+of+Exercise+During+Hormone+Therapy_Insights+August+2015_PCRI.pdf

> A study about the benefits of exercise to counteract the adverse effects of ADT: (They describe a good resistance-training program): https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2023/04000/resistance_exercise_training_increases_muscle_mass.2.aspx

> Drs. Sholz and Moyad talking about exercise and hormone therapy: https://m.youtube.com/watch
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