Advice for Living with Prostate Cancer
Rebecca Minton, Cancer Nurse Specialist at Reframe, shares her advice on living with prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in the UK and survival rates are considered generally high. Living with prostate cancer and the side effects of treatment can affect your everyday life, your work and relationships.
It can be hard to cope with emotionally as well as physically. Shock, anger, denial, loneliness and stress are all common thoughts and feelings. After treatment, some men may be able to put their experience behind them, while others may continue to have side effects or worry about cancer returning indefinitely.
In some cases, the cancer may come back and spread to other parts of the body. There is effective treatment to help keep the cancer cells under control (usually hormone therapy), but this doesn’t stop those that have to live with cancer from finding life difficult and stressful.
Tips on living life to the fullest
Here’s some suggestions on how to improve your long-term health and lower any chance of the cancer reoccurring:
- Getting emotional support
Some men are affected more than others, but feelings of depression, anxiety, or worry are perfectly normal and can change at any time. You may be unhappy, more tearful than usual or lose interest in the things you love. If you notice these in yourself, inform your GP or speak to others regularly, whether that is friends and family, religious groups, support groups, or professional counsellors. Learning ways to relax may also help, such as yoga and meditation.
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Living a healthy lifestyle
Focus on a healthy well-balanced diet with adequate fluid intake and try to cut down on alcohol consumption and caffeine products (tea and coffee). Prostate Cancer UK found that regular exercise after cancer treatment can slow cancer progression by up to 57%. It can also help give you something to set your mind to and lift your mood. Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises) are equally important, especially after surgery in order to keep your pelvic floor muscles and bladder tight to stop the chances of long-term incontinence.
- Coming to terms with your sexuality
Prostate cancer treatment can often affect sexual function. Learning to be comfortable with your body during and after prostate cancer treatment is a personal journey. The affect on sexual function may be short-term or long-term and many different interventions such as medication, erectile dysfunction pumps, injections or testosterone replacement can be used to try to regain full function of the penis.
- Ongoing appointments
It's vital to use these appointments to discuss any changes, concerns or ongoing issues that you are having. Within these check-ups a regular PSA blood test and scans, bone density check ups will take place.
- Focus on the moments that matter
If you have advanced prostate cancer, you find it particularly hard or upsetting to think about future. However, making plans for the future may help you feel more prepared and have other than cancer to focus on. Everyone’s journey is unique, so take each stage at your own pace.
