Prostate Cancer Support Group

Hey Chris
Have things gotten better? I just joined this site in hopes of being to talk to people going through the same thing. So was reading different things and saw your post. I am so sorry. To me, it sounds like, he is mad at the disease and doesn't know how to react. Could this be? How long have you been married?
Hope to help.
Cheyerl

Chris, I am a husband with prostate cancer post surgery, radiation and continuing Lupron Injections. I am quite moody these days with wild changes of emotion, which I chalk up to the Lupron though of course the emotional weight of the disease can not be dismissed as well. I would encourage you to try to direct your husband to speak with others, such as other cancer patients, Gilda''s Club goups and possibly a therapist. I expect he is not doing so, and thus releasing his anxiety negatively towards your daughter and you. I do hope that things have improved for your family. In addition to the emotional, he may alse be quite tired from the radiation and if he is receiving Lupron, then all bets are off and he certainly could be having some very negative physical and emotional side effects. I do hope that all has improved for your family. There is also support groups for family members of cancer patients. I again direct you to Gilda's Club, an incredibly valuable resource in deed.

I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer 6 years ago at the age of 52. Doctors said that I was too young to have that disease so it was recommended that I get a second opinion which confirmed the diagnosis. After being in shock for a month or so I had the surgery to have it removed. Surgery was successful and today there is no trace. But that's was only the beginning.

It was life changing. Though I was a healthy man again and recovering, I became very angry. I was hurt, depressed, emotional, and more. To this day I don't know why. I mistreated everyone around me and sometimes took it out on myself. My wife tried hard to get me into counseling or involved in groups but I refused. Finally, years later I snapped out of it. At this point, it looks as though it may cost me my marriage. I am working hard on myself to be a better man but my wife quit a long time ago. She left me several weeks ago.

I say this not to scare you but to inform and encourage you to never give up. I know there is only so much you can take and it is easier said than done. He may be angry now but that is nothing compared to the pain and guilt he will feel if something were to happen to his family. I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestions, but I wish I had it to do all over again. I love and miss my wife very much.

Hi! How are things going?
I am a wife of a prostate cancer survivor.
My hubby went under the radiation treatments. NO surgery.
He was quite moody for awhile because he was mad at what had happened to him at quite an early age. He was 44 then he is going on 49, so almost 5 years.
Things that helped him through it was the 8 weeks of treatments were at a top notch cancer facility and the doc he had actually had a sense of humor. He also talked to us! Not just my hubby.
Everyday we went down there the doc poked his head out of the office to see how I was and then there was the staff that cared more about us than about the treatments.
The American Cancer Society helped us with gas costs so that helped alot. We had the best treatments and they still to this day act like we are their first priority.
This is rare from what I understand.
Hubby got through it by trying to find some humor through it all.
Cancer is hard and for men to go through this wondering just how it will all work out is harder. I have no advice for your daughter but to hang in there, I hope that it does get better with time. I hope by now it is better.
ttfn AnnieEm

Wow - i remember when my husband was back - just finishing with his radiation after surgery. He was so grumpy and depressed. I had four children between the ages of 4 and 9, and it is so hard because you know they are going through a lot and you want to be understanding, and yet you are all going through a lot too. I think you might be best off suggesting some sort of counselling, unless you can sit down to a group discussion without help. I know for us, my husband did end up speaking to his doctor and taking something for depression for about a year or so, and in that time frame we were able to adjust to all of the many changes in our lives. My husband had a hard time seeing that it was affecting the rest of the family as well as himself.

I had eight weeks of Proton Therapy, and can say that I had little to no side effects, with the exception of being quite moody, and still am. It's not just from the fact that a year later I had a heart attack, and now am suffering through Myasthenia Gravis, but rather each of these things are life altering. For me, what helped alot, while under the watchful eye of Proton Therapy, is the outreach program that the hospital offered. I would seriously recommend that you join a support group, and if you can't find one, talk with your doctor about the emotions because stress can lead to additional problems.

As a wife of prostate cancer survivor I can testify the surgery is the easy part. The recovery is a long hard battle. It's been 13 months an today is a struggle for me- I am willing to be creative regarding intimacy but its hard to do when your husband is addicted to all sports on TV I am in the verge if giving up I am only 34 and this is not where I want to be He rarely buys the Cialis and just got a Viagra script which still sits on the table a beyond frustrating He thinks they costs too much I came to this website to find others with the same battles and there are a lot in my shoes and in his

I had a lot of anger before and after surgery. Anger at lost opportunities with my wife for the previous 25 years. I moved out of our house to get my head together. I have a bad habit of depending on no one but myself. So I holed up in an apartment and tried to work it out. My wife was as supportive as she could possibly be even though she didn't want me to leave, she wanted me to be well. I am doing better now, not as angry but I think what the doctors don't do well is prepare the patients for the emotional toll. I think they should insist on having surgery candidates talk to people who have gone through it so they can have a grip on what to expect. And have a better handle on what to do when your idea of what a man is and does is taken away. Also, it helps to know that there are people who have gone thru the same pain and where it is and how long it lasts. I know not all results are the same, but there is a shared experience that can be related to others. We, in this community can help others getting ready to join by telling them what we did and are going thru. There can be depression, anger, feelings of loss, fear, but they can disappear over time and things can be OK. Not necessarily great but good sometimes great. And without the fear of cancer hanging over their heads.