Post external beam radiation & hormone therapy

I had a psa number of 24, via a random blood test in march 2016. Had one hormone jab in may 2016. Then a 3 monthly one (prostap3) in june 2016. This led to all my midriff getting tingly and numb in parts, and very painful to touch. I had the usual 37 radiotherapy treatments over the autumn, finishing by oct 7th. Apart from tiredness from this, I didn't have any other after effects......until midway through december, I noticed parts of my left leg and foot were going tingly and numb. Along with a slight pain in my hip when walking. These symptoms continued to get gradually worse, to the extent now I have a totally useless left leg, constant tingling and numbness in both foot and leg. Had several scan types in jan and feb, and it wasn't until the last mri scan in late feb, that a diagnosis of seemingly radiation nerve damage was muted.... Up to that point, none of the specialists I had seen came up with this diagnosis. Yet I am reading many instances in this forum going way back to 2001 of exactly what I was suffering from. At the beginning, I was informed of the possible urinary and bowel problems, and the dreaded ed.  Nothing at all about the possibility of any nerve damage that could cause loss of use of your legs.  In a way, I feel let down, not being allowed to weigh up all the possible after effects. Had I known about possible loss of leg use, it might have made a difference to the treatment method I eventually chose.  As it is I now have the prospect of further loss of limb use. All the meds I can cope with; tis the lack of prior information from the experts that gets me down. Recovering from prostate cancer is certainly a life changer. Getting about the house is a major event, as is trying to carry anything from one room to another when trying to keep your balance with either crutches or a zimmer. Extreme tiredness doesn't help either. I just wish someone somewhere was looking into nerve regeneration after radiotherapy.

Naturewalker said:

Radiation and hormone therapy..

I had a psa number of 24, via a random blood test in march 2016. Had one hormone jab in may 2016. Then a 3 monthly one (prostap3) in june 2016. This led to all my midriff getting tingly and numb in parts, and very painful to touch. I had the usual 37 radiotherapy treatments over the autumn, finishing by oct 7th. Apart from tiredness from this, I didn't have any other after effects......until midway through december, I noticed parts of my left leg and foot were going tingly and numb. Along with a slight pain in my hip when walking. These symptoms continued to get gradually worse, to the extent now I have a totally useless left leg, constant tingling and numbness in both foot and leg. Had several scan types in jan and feb, and it wasn't until the last mri scan in late feb, that a diagnosis of seemingly radiation nerve damage was muted.... Up to that point, none of the specialists I had seen came up with this diagnosis. Yet I am reading many instances in this forum going way back to 2001 of exactly what I was suffering from. At the beginning, I was informed of the possible urinary and bowel problems, and the dreaded ed.  Nothing at all about the possibility of any nerve damage that could cause loss of use of your legs.  In a way, I feel let down, not being allowed to weigh up all the possible after effects. Had I known about possible loss of leg use, it might have made a difference to the treatment method I eventually chose.  As it is I now have the prospect of further loss of limb use. All the meds I can cope with; tis the lack of prior information from the experts that gets me down. Recovering from prostate cancer is certainly a life changer. Getting about the house is a major event, as is trying to carry anything from one room to another when trying to keep your balance with either crutches or a zimmer. Extreme tiredness doesn't help either. I just wish someone somewhere was looking into nerve regeneration after radiotherapy.

As Vasco noted, ALL PCa therapies have risks: Radiation, surgery, Hormonal.  None is risk-free.  Actually, most here claim that RT (Radiation Therapy) has the fewest risks in most situations. But "fewer risks" is not equivalent to "no risk."  What is most risky of all would be to not eradicat PCa with a high PSA number, such as you had.  You do not give any detail of your disease: Gleason, vector rate, what areas were irradiated, etc. Type of RT delivery, although it sounds like almost certainly IGRT or IMRT.  What forms of scanning mapped the irradiated area ?   These facts might allow some of the guys to give a bit more insight into what you are dealing with.

Hopefully the cancer is gone, and the nerve function will return. Only time will tell, and here,  time is measured in months and years.  I have been totally unable to walk or even stand up in the past (used a walker for about a year, and a quad cane for about a year after that), but because of trauma, not cancer.  Today I mow my two properties with a push mower, walk most of the night at work on hilly terrain.  When not at work I am doing something physical, all day, every day, and I will be 61 my birthday.  Plus, I've had advanced lymphoma in the mix which is highly dibilitating, and around 20 surgeries, although several of those were minor things, like the insertion of abdominal drains or caths to monitor my heart, chest tube insertions in ICU. Others were major.

It is one day at a time.

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