Incontinence

[Bigscout]

Hi
I have had the 37 RT treatments for PCa over 2 yrs ago, but continence issues slowly getting worse, now have some leakage from both front and back passages, but am coping with use of pads, Is this rare or quite common as something I don't talk to anyone about

[Dr Jon Rees]

Hi

Incontinence after both radiotherapy and surgery for prostate cancer is still relatively common. It is really important to get help with this as it can have such a huge impact on your quality of life. Are your symptoms controlled to your satisfaction? If there is only a small amount of leakage and you mainly wear pads for security then it may be fine to leave things as they are and continue to concentrate on strengthening your pelvic floor muscles ( I hope you have been shown how to do this properly, not just given a leaflet?). But if your symptoms are more bothersome than that, you should be under the care of your continence advisor locally or your urology team at the hospital. There are often things that can be done for you, including operations such as insertion of an artificial sphincter to control urination for some patients....

[Philippa Aslet]

Incontinece can certainly be a distressing and embarrassing side effect of radiotherapy. Along side pads there ore other containment devices that we can use to manage these symptoms such as urinary sheaths. So it really is worth speaking to a continence advisor or Urology Specialist nurse locally to get some additional help. If these fail to improve then a specialist referral is advisable.