side effects of radiation

[Filotimo62]

Hi All,

Just a quick question about side effects of radiation.

My partner Tony is Gleason 8. Had RP (removed prostate and also 7 lymph nodes - 1 was affected) and recovered very well. 2nd PET scan showed no problems, but Treatment Team decided to do everything (RP, ADT, Radio and later Chemo) to give him the best curative chance. Superfit and 56.

He started his radiation treatment on Thursday and has had 2 sessions so far. On Wednesday he started his ADT treatment (injection every 3 months).

He was told that side effects would be minimal from radio, especially at such an early stage (2 treatments so far - he has to have 7 weeks every day Mon-Fri).

Currently his side effects are:

- Headache ...?? ADT and if so would it happen so quickly.

- Lethargy and flat mood

- Ache in lower abdomen and also today pain in hips early this morning (has improved a bit as the day progressed).

- nauseous in the morning - wanting to vomit

He has been feeling unwell and hasn't exercised for 5 days now and he usually goes between 4-6 times a week to the gym.

Has anyone gotten these symptoms from radiation (or ADT after a few days)..

He is worrying about the seven long weeks of radiation if his side effects are this after only 2 sessions.

Many thanks for your help.

Maria

[Longterm101]

Sorry to hear about the side effects

I start my radiation on Monday and i too am concerned about side effects

I am also 56

Where is he being treated?

[Filotimo62 in reply to Longterm101]

Adelaide, Australia

[Longterm101 in reply to Filotimo62]

Keep us posted on his progress and side effects

Hope he starts feeling better soon

[Filotimo62 in reply to Longterm101]

Will do. We are hoping its just a coincidence. He will check with the radiologist on Tuesday.

[Ralph1966]

What was the injection name?

I got Firmagon on 06/04/2019 and will start SRT in 6 weeks.

I believe that the ADT injection is the cause of all these early symptoms as I have them too.

My mood is going down, I feel tired and have to take naps after 8 hours of work, and go to bed early.

[pjoshea13]

Hi Maria,

I had 7 weeks of salvage radiation 14 years ago. I did not have ADT.

With radiation, I sometimes needed a nap during the day.

I quickly developed bowel issues that took a long time to resolve after treatment ended. But many don't.

I don't recall any other issues.

Best wishes to him.

-Patrick

[Magnus1964]

Sounds like his team of doctors is really throwing everything at him. After surgery and starting radiation I would think his energy level would be really low. He is going through a lot but there is light at the end of this tunnel.

[Mish80]

Hi there. This sounds very similar to my dads experience recently with radiation and his first injection in the one week. It definitely knocked him around at first but it definitely got a lot better for him and he was able to exercise regularly and get back to normal so to speak. He also had 7 weeks of radiation and is in Australian also

[Pleroma]

Maria,

I don't recall my ADT giving any such immediate side-effects. None at all, in fact.

I assume he is on Lupron?

As the radiation treatments (RT) progressed, bowel issues (diarrhea) was an issue.

There was some nausea, but not to the point of vomiting, but my diet became simplified down to those things that I felt my stomach could handle.

Fatigue was definitely worse during RT - as if it was not enough on ADT! - so a double whammy there.

No pain.

Hope that helps.

[407ca]

I guess I was fortunate as I had no radiation side effects at all. Had primary treatment radiation, which failed. Later had radiation to mets. No side effects from either .

[farmanerd]

Way too early to be due to testosterone (T) depression, since T probably hasn't moved much yet. Look at the pharmacokinetics graph in Figure 2 for Eligard (should be a similar one available for his drug):

google.com/url?sa=t&source=...

EDIT: the link is to a PDF.

The lethargy and flat mood could just be an emotional response along the lines of "Shoot, what have I just signed up for!?!"

Any possibility that some of the symptoms aren't treatment related and are due to some other cause?

[Tall_Allen]

Here's a list of side effects from primary radiation - the side effects of salvage radiation may be worse:

pcnrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/...

Exercise is the best preventative, and may help the radiation work better. I doubt that chemo will be beneficial.

[Hidden]

Hi, I completed 4 weeks of radiation in April. I didn't see side effects until about 3rd week when I was a bit more fatigued. I was particularly worried about urinary and bowel side effects but I had no issues.

Not sure if it helped me or not, but during those treatments I was drinking about 200 ounces per day, and included a fiber in the drink (psyllium husk). Also, I tried to have virtually no stool in my lower intestine during those treatments. I did that by being regular every day, defecating about 3 hours before the treatment. It was difficult to get my routine down so that I had empty bowel, and full bladder for each treatment, but I did it.

Like him, I was really worried about the sessions. After you get a week or two done hopefully he'll start to feel more confident about them. If you can talk to your oncology team, they are a great resource to help you through!

[Filotimo62]

Many thanks everyone - I will pass this information onto him. He is going into the gym today and I have been making blander food (I'm the cook in the family). I agree, the psychological shock of daily treatment is probably causing some of this reaction. I think he is more worried about the ADT and that the doctors are saying at least 18 months. He is trying to persuade them 6 if his PSA is low.

Once again, many thanks for all these great responses. This is my go to place if I have a question and then the treatment team.

[jfoesq]

I am curious to know why his rad treatment is M-F for the time period you indicated. I am not the most knowledgeable on the subject, but my rad treatment was much shorter in duration when it was done on my acetabulum (pelvis) several years ago at MSK. And- I didn't suffer any adverse side effects. Iimagine there is a good reason his rad treatment was scheduled for a linger period of time, but it may be worth inquiring about.

I was 56 and healthy when I had the rad and also had my prostate and 34-36 lymph nodes removed, along with ADT, but without the chemo. Is it possible he is feeling the effects of chemo and not rad?

[Filotimo62 in reply to jfoesq]

Not had chemo yet. He has IBS so this may have been affected by radio and ADT also.

[j-o-h-n]

Tea kanis Maria?

From an old post of mine:

I had 8 weeks of salvage radiation to "the bed". 5 days a week (not weekends) for 8 weeks minus 1 day for a total of 39 sessions.

The actual radiation was like getting an x-ray by my dentist. I never had any side effects during the whole 39 sessions.

However 2 years later my left urinary tract was "fried" as per my urologist (or from passing prior kidney stones he was not sure). So i had to have a urinary stent placed up my urinary tract (through my willy which is really nothing - sounds terrible but it's nothing) to aid in passing my urine (which was never a problem anyway). So I had stents in and out every three months for many years and now I'm stent free, However today 15% of urine from left kidney and 85% from right kidney, but not a problem. So make sure you get a good radiologist.

NOTE: I WAS NOT ON ADT DRUGS AT THE TIME OF MY RADIATION.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 06/17/2019 5:41 PM DST

[Filotimo62 in reply to j-o-h-n]

Thanks for that info John. Yia sou.

[j-o-h-n in reply to Filotimo62]

Mea GiA....Yia sou....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 06/18/2019 2:03 PM DST

[RCOG2000]

All radiotherapy is not the same and side effects will vary dramatically from patient to patient. I have been through it twice.

Side effects were significantly different for me each time

But over the corse of several months and a year they resolved

[Hidden]

I did have most of the same symptoms . They were accumulative and progressed towards the end of my 8 weeks . I also was on adt so it’s a double adjustment ... Casrtration is the first line of defense . This carry’s many diminishing effects . My major one was chronic fatigue . Someone will need to push him to get up if he starts sleeping too much . Being in top,shape otherwise will make it better . Not only assualted in the “ easy bake oven” but stripped of all his male hormone at the same time . Good if the partner leads the way in diet and promotes activity . If my wife didn’t get me up I’d still be asleep today . These side effects hit us all differently .I hope that your guy flys through . Takes time to recovery . Put good stuff in.. Maria , it is great that he has you . Love is the #1 medicine ..That’s what he needs to get thru .. Take care ..

[Filotimo62]

Many thanks for that. We eat well and both exercise (Im a new exerciser), but he isn't used to feeling unwell so its a shock to him. He keeps apologizing for feeling tired. He went to the gym yesterday and he did well and felt better afterwards. I have told him that he will have some good days and some not so good days. He can do more on the good days but be gentle to himself on the bad days. He is also sookier and tells me he has become more girly (due tot he ADT) - he is joking now, but I know his emotions will be affected over the next few months. Humour remains!

[Break60]

Typically RT of the prostate has minor side effects depending on the experience of the RO and his team. Most Everyone usually experiences fatigue and gastrointestinal discomfort a few weeks into treatment. Rectal bleeding can also occur during and after RT. I had to have bleeding treated a year after treatment with radio frequency ablation.