What are the advantages
and disadvantages?
Advantages
- Chemotherapy can help improve your quality of life by
controlling symptoms such as pain.
- It may shrink or slow the growth of your cancer. This may help
some men live longer.
- There is no need to stay overnight in hospital. You will
usually visit as a day patient.
Disadvantages
- You will have regular hospital appointments.
- There is no guarantee that it will work.
- Like most treatments, chemotherapy can cause side effects. You
may also get side effects from the steroids you take alongside
chemotherapy.
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What does treatment
involve?
Most chemotherapy medicines are given as a course of up to ten
sessions (cycles) of treatment, with a break of three to four weeks
between each session.
Between treatment sessions, you will have a blood test to check
that the amounts of different blood cells (your blood count) are
within normal limits. You may also have blood tests to check how
well your liver and kidneys are working.
At each treatment session, a liquid containing the drug will be
passed through a fine tube (cannula) into a vein in your arm.
Treatment usually takes about one hour. Sometimes chemotherapy is
given through a tube that is inserted under the skin of your chest
into a vein.
It is safe to be around other people, including children and
pregnant women, when you are having chemotherapy. But you should
try to avoid contact with people who are unwell and you should not
have a type of vaccination called a live vaccine during your
treatment or for at least six months afterwards.
If you develop signs of infection, such as a fever (high
temperature), chills, or a sore throat, contact the hospital
immediately for advice.
You will have regular follow-up appointments after treatment to
check your PSA level and discuss any other symptoms you might have.
If treatment has been successful, your PSA level will usually drop
and/or your symptoms will improve.
You can read more about what treatment involves in our chemotherapy fact sheet.
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What are the side
effects?
The most common side effects of chemotherapy are:
- feeling and being sick (nausea and vomiting)
- increased risk of infection
- feeling breathless and tired
- bleeding and bruising more easily
- extreme tiredness (fatigue)
- hair loss
- sore mouth
- loss of appetite
- bowel problems
- numb or tingling hands and feet
- nail changes
Each type of chemotherapy has its own more specific side
effects. Ask your doctor or nurse about the possible side effects
of the chemotherapy you are having.
People react in different ways to chemotherapy. Some men get a lot
of side effects whilst others only get a few. There is no way of
knowing in advance which side effects you will get and how bad they
will be. Most of the side effects are temporary and your body will
recover once the treatment finishes.
You can read more about side effects in our chemotherapy fact sheet.
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Questions to ask your
doctor or nurse
- What is the aim of this treatment?
- Which medicines would be most suitable for me?
- How long will the treatment last? How many cycles will I
need?
- Can I stop the treatment if I feel unable to carry on with
it?
- What are the possible side effects of the medicines, and how
long will they last?
- What happens if the chemotherapy medicines don't work? Are
there other treatments I can have?
- Are there any clinical trials I can take part in?
- Are there any other treatments available to me?
- Who should I contact if I have any questions at any point
during my treatment? How do I contact them?
- Who will follow me up after my treatment finishes, and how
often will I have follow-up appointments?
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References
You can find a list of references used to produce this page in
our online fact sheet.
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