Tips and advice for any bladder or bowel side effects of treatment
Take a pee bottle or bucket to bed.
Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment
Keep masturbating if sex isn't available.
Tips and advice for any physical side effects of treatment
I actually lost weight I don't know why and muscle, maybe stress and not moving around as much.
How this treatment impacted my life the most
Just mostly stress wondering whether the cancer will go, how long do I live for, my muscle size has halved, I'm a care free kind of man who jokes about everything probably to keep me going , life goes on has they say, so get on with it.
If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?
I would as I feel it was the right decision for me and I wanted the cancer gone.
Why did I give this answer?
I was told that if I had the radiotherapy I wouldn't have the option to have the operation as well afterwards due to the damage and scarring that the radio would cause.
Tips and advice that might help others support those who are going through treatment
Do your pelvic floor exercises and keep going with them. I think if had had done mine more before surgery then I wouldn't have as much of a problem with incontinence. So although I'm still having to use pads, it is getting better I think and I do my pelvic floor exercises in the bath as I can be incontinent when I'm doing them.
Then I can just have a shower afterwards to make sure I'm clean.
What helped me cope and where I found support
I actually watched videos on the infopool, quite a few before I had my operation. Although it didn't hep me make a decision as my mind was already made up, it was useful to hear how other men have recovered and coped after their surgery. I feel I got more information from their videos than I did my own hospital.
