Men who undergo prostate surgery for cancer have a lot on their minds. Their health and getting rid of the cancer takes priority but they also wonder about side effects. Quality of life post-surgery is also a concern.
There are both short and long-term effects of prostate surgery and how much they affect your life depends on each individual cast.
Some men come out of surgery without the need for any other treatments and jump back into life while others go through radiation and hormone treatments, which put their life on hold for months.
Side Effects
The immediate concern post-surgery is side effects. The side effects you have depends on the exact surgery. A removal of the entire prostate, called a radical prostatectomy, will leave you with incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Stress incontinence is incredibly common post-surgery. This is where a sneeze, laugh, or cough causes
leakage. Most doctors recommend Kegel exercises and maybe biofeedback to help with that.
Erectile dysfunction isn’t a permanent situation after prostate surgery. Your doctor will likely prescribe pills to help until you regain momentum. There are other options if your sexual performance doesn’t come back.
Radiation and Hormone Therapy
Every patient isn’t prescribed radiation or hormone therapy. There are side effects to both. Radiation is typically used to kill off any possible remaining cancer cells.
It can cause urinary infections, bowel issues, nausea, and fatigue. Your doctor has medication to help with these.
Radiation can leave you with erectile dysfunction, at least for a while. That could happen after you finish
treatments. However, doctors prescribe the same medication regardless of whether it was caused by radiation or the surgery itself.
Hormone therapy is used to suppress testosterone during the healing process. It can cause many of the same symptoms as menopause like hot flashes, fatique, depression, decreased bone density and decrease sex drive.
It can also cause cognitive decline and breast growth.
However, all these symptoms will go away once you end treatment. Most treatments of around six months have no lasting effects.
Final Thoughts
Prostate treatment isn’t over when the surgery is done. Side effects require management in consultation with your doctor. Ask about all the possible side effects and your doctor’s management plan before having surgery.
