Prostate Cancer: Nearing the End of Radiotherapy

Henry making his tenth prostate cancer video

Friends, relatives and clients alike have been amazingly supportive over the last couple of months as my course of radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer has progressed.

Today, I underwent the 34th out of 37 treatments, which means that next Tuesday, 4th August, will be my final treatment.

It’s been a physical and – perhaps more importantly – emotional roller-coaster which I have documented using a completely frank series of YouTube vlogs. Today, I uploaded episode 10, explaining how I’m feeling as the end of the treatments approaches and yet another side-effect emerges.

The video series

My intention with these videos has been to inform and educate, and this applies as much to myself as to the audience. One method of coping with what has been happening to me has been to find out as much as I can about the disease, the treatment and the side-effects and what, if anything, can be done about them. But more than anything, my hope has been to drill home the message to middle-aged men that they should get themselves checked, in the hope that they might avoid what I have been through or worse.

I have been overwhelmed by the hundreds of messages of support that I have received; knowing that there have been so many people out there willing me to get better has been simply tremendous. That a number of men have also contacted me to tell me that they have taken my advice is very much the icing on the cake.

I’m not out of the woods yet, and it may be weeks, even months before some of the side-effects disappear, but at least, as I explain in the video, I will be getting back my time. Anyone who is self-employed knows how vital that is, and anyone who has been through a long series of medical procedures will have a deep understanding of how important it is to be able to feel that you have got your life back, after sacrificing hours every day to treatments over a series of weeks or months.

The immediate future

I’m going to be taking a short period of convalescence from the middle of next week to recharge my batteries so that I can come back fighting. My thanks to all my clients and Patreon patrons for their patience and support during what has been a physically and mentally challenging time.