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Dealing with emotional and physical side effects of prostate cancer

Posted by bkind2bj @bkind2bj, Jun 18 7:51am

My husband cancer spread and emotionally he’s struggling with it and the nausea and cell counts along with pain. Every time he calls the doctor, they never get back to him. His counts are low and they want to still treat him. I need to get help. I need to know why he’s not getting answer or calls back.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

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zzotte | @zzotte | 13 hours ago

This forum is great, but you do have other resources, you can contact https://pcri.org they have been a great help to me, they will need as much medical record information as you can provide and guide in the right direction which sometimes may require you to change doctors, since I don’t know where your husband it’s been getting his treatment but Mayo Clinic, and John Hopkins are two of the best
God Bless You, I will keep your Husband in my Prayers

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scottbeammeup | @scottbeammeup | 13 hours ago

I found going through my oncologist had a wait and responses were slow, but his nurse practitioner was a lot easier to schedule time with. Plus, a good NP will bring any issues to the doctor anyway. That might be an approach you could take.

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jimgaudette | @jimgaudette | 10 hours ago
In reply to @peterj116 "As we all find out, one of the hardest parts of this whole nightmare is the..." + (show)
Profile picture for peterj116 @peterj116

As we all find out, one of the hardest parts of this whole nightmare is the waiting.
Waiting for an appointment date, waiting for results, waiting for the next procedure... it never ends.
And while waiting, we feel in limbo... helpless... forgotten.

As I frequently say here... the emotional side of this whole experience is not talked about enough.
Be we have this place - and we're grateful for it.
I can only say from experience that although the wait between procedures is torture, we're able to look back later & realise that actually quite a bit has been done.

Until then.... both of you remember this:
It's his health/life.
Now is not the time to worry about "not wanting to bother" someone.
Nag them mercilessly for updates.
I do.
It's their job - and with so many patients, it's easy to forget how painful the wait is for each patient.

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@peterj116 The emotional side of dealing with cancer can be overwhelming as are the emotional side effects of ADT. I would like to recommend mindfulness practice and exercise (I do yoga, weights and walking). Even though the path has been difficult, I have become a much stronger, more resilient person as a result.

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mjm8491 | @mjm8491 | 8 hours ago
In reply to @jimgaudette "@peterj116 The emotional side of dealing with cancer can be overwhelming as are the emotional side..." + (show)
Profile picture for jimgaudette @jimgaudette

@peterj116 The emotional side of dealing with cancer can be overwhelming as are the emotional side effects of ADT. I would like to recommend mindfulness practice and exercise (I do yoga, weights and walking). Even though the path has been difficult, I have become a much stronger, more resilient person as a result.

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@jimgaudette
I've read that exercise can mitigate most of the ADT side effects ĥave you found that to be the case? If I may ask, how old are you?

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jimgaudette | @jimgaudette | 5 hours ago
In reply to @mjm8491 "@jimgaudette I've read that exercise can mitigate most of the ADT side effects ĥave you found..." + (show)
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@jimgaudette
I've read that exercise can mitigate most of the ADT side effects ĥave you found that to be the case? If I may ask, how old are you?

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@mjm8491 I am 75 years old. Mindfulness, breathing, stretching, balancing, walking or running and resistance training all help. Nonetheless, the ADT side effects don’t go away, but are easier to deal with. I have had to deal with hot flashes, insomnia, emotional lability and frequent crying, depression and bone and muscle loss. ADT also raised my blood pressure and blood sugar and lowered my red blood count. Once I stopped ADT, my blood normalized, but since my testosterone is slow coming back, I am still dealing with the other problems. I take calcium daily and Alendronate weekly for my bones and exercise daily to minimize bone and muscle loss and depression. I am very careful with what I eat so that I don’t put on fat, eating a high protein low calorie diet.

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jimgaudette | @jimgaudette | 5 hours ago
In reply to @jimgaudette "@mjm8491 I am 75 years old. Mindfulness, breathing, stretching, balancing, walking or running and resistance training..." + (show)
Profile picture for jimgaudette @jimgaudette

@mjm8491 I am 75 years old. Mindfulness, breathing, stretching, balancing, walking or running and resistance training all help. Nonetheless, the ADT side effects don’t go away, but are easier to deal with. I have had to deal with hot flashes, insomnia, emotional lability and frequent crying, depression and bone and muscle loss. ADT also raised my blood pressure and blood sugar and lowered my red blood count. Once I stopped ADT, my blood normalized, but since my testosterone is slow coming back, I am still dealing with the other problems. I take calcium daily and Alendronate weekly for my bones and exercise daily to minimize bone and muscle loss and depression. I am very careful with what I eat so that I don’t put on fat, eating a high protein low calorie diet.

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@jimgaudette ADT also caused ED, but for me no loss of libido. I fixed my ED with an inflatable penile implant (which my wife and I are very happy with) but may not be the best choice for everyone.

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mjm8491 | @mjm8491 | 2 hours ago
In reply to @jimgaudette "@mjm8491 I am 75 years old. Mindfulness, breathing, stretching, balancing, walking or running and resistance training..." + (show)
Profile picture for jimgaudette @jimgaudette

@mjm8491 I am 75 years old. Mindfulness, breathing, stretching, balancing, walking or running and resistance training all help. Nonetheless, the ADT side effects don’t go away, but are easier to deal with. I have had to deal with hot flashes, insomnia, emotional lability and frequent crying, depression and bone and muscle loss. ADT also raised my blood pressure and blood sugar and lowered my red blood count. Once I stopped ADT, my blood normalized, but since my testosterone is slow coming back, I am still dealing with the other problems. I take calcium daily and Alendronate weekly for my bones and exercise daily to minimize bone and muscle loss and depression. I am very careful with what I eat so that I don’t put on fat, eating a high protein low calorie diet.

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@jimgaudette
Thanks for the info, very helpful. What ADT medication are you taking?

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jimgaudette | @jimgaudette | 2 hours ago
In reply to @mjm8491 "@jimgaudette Thanks for the info, very helpful. What ADT medication are you taking?" + (show)
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@jimgaudette
Thanks for the info, very helpful. What ADT medication are you taking?

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@mjm8491 I have been off ADT for two years. I was on Lupron and Abiraterone with Prednisone for two years and Lupron with Enzalutimide for one year. I switched from Enzalutimide to Abiraterone because my monthly fee for Enzalutimide went from $2.50 a month to $1,600 a month. They are very similar. Medicare paid for both the Lupron and the Abiraterone in full.

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