Cancer And The Domino Health Effects Of Treatment

Cancer Ribbons

I have been mentally calculating an audit lately of the personal health effects as a result from my prostate cancer and its treatments. It has become apparent to me, that the results of this audit may make for an interesting article for some readers. What follows is not intended as a “Poor Me” sympathetic seeking diatribe, but rather as a personal example of the domino effect that a cancer diagnosis can have on the health of a patient. I am sure that many long-term cancer patients would also see themselves, and their journey in the same way. My intention in this article is to highlight this issue so that fellow cancer patients, recognise that they are not alone, and to advise new cancer patients of the pitfalls that may await them on their path.

Before I begin, I should point out that prior to the time of my cancer diagnosis, I thought I was a pretty fit soul. I visited and walked Kokoda in 2008 and 2009. I was an avid sailor, diver and fossicker up to my diagnosis, and my previous health apart from skin cancers had been marvellous. In July 2011 I was about to turn a fit and active 64 years of age in September, and I felt bullet proof…….Until late August.

My cancer adventure began in late August 2011 when I experienced urinary problems that lead to my visit to the GP, and then for a PSA test and ultrasound. The results showed a PSA of 4.5 and an enlarged prostate that led to a diagnosis of BPH. (benign prostatic hypoplasia) I was given a prescription for pills to alleviate the urinary pain, and a future date in six months to repeat the tests. I didn’t quite make the six month period as the symptoms became much worse in January and February of 2012. In early March I had my first visit to the urologist, whose examination led to a biopsy; With the results confirming advanced aggressive prostate cancer that threw me into a spin mentally.

I needed to make a choice of treatments available, and through some early research and medical advice decided on, Radiation and Androgen Deprivation Therapy as my primary treatments. I immediately received my first injection of the drug Eligard, that I was to receive every four months for the next two years, plus an oral anti androgen drug taken daily. On the other hand in order to begin my radiation treatments, I first had to attend to my urinary symptoms which involved a surgical procedure carried out in May called a TURP (rebore.) The TURP procedure alleviated the urinary restrictions, but also introduced a series of urinary tract infections that persisted until September 2012. Finally in October I was able to begin the radiation treatment.

So there I was at the end of 2012, having had to cease work with the following health audit results of:

• Various urinary symptoms, including some incontinence, and infection causing increased frequency, pain, chills and fever.
• Erectile dysfunction and loss of any sexual libido.
• Hot and cold flushes, constant mental and physical fatigue.
• Sleep disturbances and increasing joint stiffness and joint pain.

The following year 2013 found me dealing with the above side effects, and attending to all the medical visits to doctors for blood tests and scans. The year finished with the following health audit:

• All of the previous years health issues.
• A new diagnosis of Diabetes type II, which may or may not be attributed to the Androgen Deprivation Therapy but included diet modification and blood monitoring daily.
• A diagnosis of osteopenia, which is a precursor to osteoporosis or thinning of bone density. This may or may not be attributed to the Androgen Deprivation Therapy.
• Intermittent urinary bleeding had started late in the year.
• An instance of mental depression led to mental breakdown with considerations of suicide. This led to several sessions with a counsellor.

Early in 2014 the urinary bleeding events began to worsen, and become more frequent. I had a cystoscopy examination that concluded I had radiation damage to the bladder. In May I began hyperbaric oxygen treatment to treat the radiation cystitis in Townsville General Hospital for two months. Unfortunately this treatment failed, when I was admitted as an emergency with urinary retention, twice during the hyperbaric treatment. The frequency of hospitalisations due to urinary blockages and bleeding increased throughout the year, including several medical procedures to attempt to solve the issue. Finally in November, surgery removed the remains of my prostate gland, lymph nodes and the bladder. Pathology confirmed active cancer cells and tumour were evident in the samples. These had been previously undetected by PSA monitoring. Pathology also confirmed the bladder tissue was quite neucrotic and fragmented. The health audit for 2014 brings us up to date with:

• Most of the previous two years issues still current.
• The ill-health and the effects from pain, and mental anguish from instances of urinary bleeding and blockages that required hospitalisations.
• Uncontrolled urinary incontinence from time to time.
• The immediate effects of the surgical procedures, and rehabilitation needed.
• The care and maintenance of the stoma, that was surgically created to replace the bladder function.

Sometimes its the truth

Looking back over what I have presented here, seems to be pretty much just a summary of events that I have written about in other published articles. That may be the case, but I think it still represents a good example of cancer and the domino effect that cancer causes in a person’s life. When I think about the domino effect, I wonder just how accurate are the mortality rates given for cancer by the statisticians. Could it be that the cause of death in some instances, attributed to conditions other than cancer, be actually a bi-product of the cancer domino effect????? As an example, prior to my surgery in November 2014, I was critically ill with blood loss and urine retention. My doctor at the time, agrees that without surgical intervention I would have died from blood loss by Christmas 2014. If that had been the case, would my death have been registered in statistics as being from my prostate cancer, or from blood loss and urinary retention?????

 

Lee aka Popeye