Akin Akintayo: Men's things

Thursday, 9 January 2025

Men's things - XXII

The post-radiotherapy situation

Three months ago today, I rang the end-of-treatment bell in the radiotherapy department of Christie Hospital. Twenty weekdays of hypofractionated radiotherapy administered to the cancerous parts of my prostate gland had begun to take its toll.

These three side effects that took hold started with chronic fatigue quite early in the treatment, then insomnia, and uncomfortable bladder issues increasing the difficulty in passing urine along with sometimes stabbing and sharp pains in the urethra. The fatigue affecting my energy levels seriously impacted my natural voice which regularly fades into a tired sounding voice belying other issues.

As I have reported, my recuperation continues apace. Though I worked through the treatment and for a month thereafter, the side effects of radiotherapy had become such that I needed to totally take time off to rest, recover, and recuperate while availing myself of essential care, help, and support of my partner, Brian.

Some side effects persist, the main one around the bladder and urinary functions is managed with medication, I feel stronger and able, but I need to manage wisely my return to normalcy as it is becoming obvious that these things take time.

Take heed and test

At any opportunity especially with young and middle-aged black men, I talk about prostate health, the need for checkups and the essential work of removing stigma and embarrassment from talking about men’s things. Things around the male reproductive system that crudely and culturally define manhood, manliness, masculinity, or virility.

Any black man over 45 should be aware and conversant with their prostate health as statistically, 1 in 4 black men will encounter prostate cancer in their lifetime. The risk is heightened if your mother or sister has had breast cancer or if your father or brother has had prostate cancer. [Prostate Cancer UK: Black men and prostate cancer]

This matter should not be trifled with, if caught early you have many options for treatment and cure. What would be unfortunate is to find that prostate cancer has spread and metastasized and there is little that medical intervention can do.

Prostate enlargement or inflammation may not be indicative of cancer, but every occurrence of what is called benign prostate hyperplasia needs to be checked out. [NHS: Benign Prostate Enlargement]

Early action helps prompt intervention

You can easily determine if your prostate has problems by running the IPSS Calculator. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is a somewhat subjective assessment of your bladder and urinary health since the prostate gland is a muscular switch that sits beneath the bladder, surrounding the urinary tract as it exits the bladder and controlling urinary and ejaculatory flows.

Regardless of the IPSS score, it might be useful in persuading your medical team to conduct a Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. In my case, adverse readings on other blood tests and the fact that I am in the above 45 cohort became the impetus for requesting a PSA test in early February 2024. [NHS: PSA test]

The PSA test result would determine if other investigations and interventions are necessary. Again, in my case, we caught it early, addressed the options, and commenced effective treatment, and I am on the way to full recovery.

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