"Prostate Cancer Treatment"

I have been coming for several weeks now. Staff at Reception and in Radiotherapy have been really good. It has been very helpful to see the nurses three times during treatment, and being able to discuss any issues directly with them.

I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago - prostrate was removed and they thought they had got it all. My PSA levels were checked and the cancer had re-appeared after 12/13 months, but they could not find it. I kept going for scans and it showed up eventually in one of the lymph nodes. Half way through all this there was an ‘incidental find’ which was another primary cancer - not related to the prostrate one. I was lucky they found this - if I had not been going for the prostrate scans they would not have found this other one, which was much more serious.

All the staff I have met, except one, have been really good. However I’m not sure all the professionals you see appreciate what you are going through, particularly the doctors and consultants, because they don’t realise how drastic it is for you as an individual. The waiting for results of scans, x-rays etc is particularly difficult. Could this be speeded up? The stress of not knowing what the results are is awful.

One of the differences between my treatment here in Ninewells and in Edinburgh is that the Edinburgh team took great care to make sure you knew what they were doing, but this was not the case for the prostrate team here. Things were not explained in the same depth as they were in Edinburgh, although I have to admit that sometimes you are in such a state of shock that you don’t take it all in.

There is a new robotic procedure which outwardly is much better; but they don’t explain that they are doing the same thing inside. It is still a trauma. It needs to be explained that it is still a major operation.

One bad thing that happened to me - I was let out of hospital on a Thursday or Friday and became very badly constipated over the weekend which was worse than all the previous treatment. I got no help from the NHS and it was the worst experience ever. Maybe before the operation it could be explained that this might happen and what to do to deal with it? Professionals should prepare you for this and tell you what to do. This is part of the problem of being let home before the weekend - they need to be more specific about where to get help if you need it. That needs to be explained clearly to the patients.

I have to mention the Maggi Centre which has been a great help. I have used their services and so has my wife because she has been traumatised by this as well. My wife has been attending courses there which have proved to be very informative. The whole team there are excellent. I am starting on a course myself soon - Life after Cancer.

A good thing that has happened is that one of my employers has been on an awareness course about cancer and this has made her more aware of the tiredness her staff could experience going through treatment. It is not a normal tiredness - you just feel ‘zonked’, which coincides at the same time with not being able to sleep well.