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Paul's Story

Ethnicity
White British
Age
60-69
Work
Office
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Geography
East Anglia
Relationship status
In a relationship
Listen

Hormone Therapy (injections and relugolix tablets)

How this treatment impacted my life the most

The Zoladex implants caused both hot & cold flushes - which I am still getting 15 months into the treatment. These made finding suitable clothing difficult - I couldn't tell whether I was going to be dripping sweat or shivering, regardless of the external temperature. In addition, I did get very stiff ankle joints & muscles down the backs of the legs which started about 2 months after the first dose & continued for about 6 months - these started after about 2mins of sitting & took 5-10mins walking to wear off. These made walking down the stairs difficult first thing in the morning & walking after driving to work etc was a bit of a stumble until the stiffness went.

If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?

Yes

Why did I give this answer?

Relatively minor inconveniences, if it helped ensure the subsequent radiotherapy was successful.

Radiotherapy

Tips and advice for any bladder or bowel side effects of treatment

Regarding bowels - I always ensure I have anti-diarrhoea tablets wherever I go. Regarding bladder - I always check where toilets are before I set off anywhere & drink as little as possible while I am out.

Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment

Discuss it with your partner.

How this treatment impacted my life the most

The first couple of weeks of radiotherapy were not too bad, it was during the following two weeks where the tiredness set in, this lasted a couple of weeks after the end of treatment. The first two weeks, I was able to continue life as normal (other than going to hospital every morning), but for the next month or so I was really to tired to want to do anything - even turning on the TV or picking up a book seemed exhausting at times.

If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?

Yes

Why did I give this answer?

I wanted to be free of the cancer.

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