how long will fatigue be likely to last after SRT?

Sophie,

Its hard to answer your question without knowing what sort of vacation you have in mind. For most of us the fatigue that goes with radiation isn't disabling, it just slows us down. In my case as long as I had stuff to do I was fine. I worked through the whole thing. But quiet times -- things like watching television in the evening -- tended to offer opportunities to take a nap, and I expect if I had been into high-intensity sports my endurance might have been off, although it didn't seem to affect my usual circuit at the gym that much.

The fatigue tends to taper off during the six weeks following the end of the radiation. During that time he should be able to do most of the things people call a "vacation" but his time will be off if he runs a marathon and long periods of nighttime driving might be a bad idea without lots of coffee.

You mention that he is already fatigued and hasn't started the radiation yet. Often when radiation fatigue is retroactive like that the man is depressed. Has he talked to his doctor about that?

I am much more concerned with your statement that he's already tired all the time. That's not normal before SRT. Does he walk? Daily walking (even just 30 minutes) would help a lot. I hate to throw around the "D" word depression, but has his doctor evaluated him for that? A surprising number of us get some depression as a result of PC. I don't mean just emotionally down because of being sick, but depressed because of something the PC is doing to our bodies and the chemistry of our brains.

As to the question you really asked: Recovery doesn't take long. I went on a trip to Paris 3 months after IMRT and felt great. I would have been able to travel 2 or 3 weeks after RT. But as Peter mentions, what kind of vacation does matter a bit. He might not be up to white water rafting or skydiving, but wandering around a resort in search of a good cocktail or the pool he be just fine very soon after SRT. The medical followups are generally 2-3 months after RT ends so there's no pressure to hang around after the beams are shut off.

When I was scheduling my RT, I told the doctors of my vacation plans and they went out of their way to get me in sooner. They thought planning a trip like that was a great thing. Turned out it was.

Andrew

I think there is some depression, but he's managing that ok. I've been encouraging him to come for walks with me, so he does get some exercise.

He was strong and fit a year ago. Now he is weak and tired, and struggling with the new identity that PCa has given him.

Mostly he is just worn out from stress and working too much. He was tired even before he knew he had cancer. His doctor thinks stress is what caused the cancer to start growing.

He's always wanted to go to the pacific northwest. We plan to do some driving and sight-seeing, some short hikes. But it sounds like i should plan some very low key short days. He has recovered very slowly from everything to do with cancer. (Even the first DRE with the butcher of a urologist he first saw was bad. He was in terrible pain for a week after that) . So I'll be prepared for it to take him some time to recover.

Thanks.

Sophie

Sophie: I live in Eastern Washington and can vouch for doing as little or as much as you want to here! Lots to see up here in the pacific NW; city life, day hiking, biggest wine country outside of California. We welcome you.
Kelly

I'm just finishing SRT this week. I'm also on HT. The fatigue is there but not debilitating. I tried to work during this but found at the half way point that I was working 7 days to try to keep up. My wife kindly pointed out that I was insane so I went on short term disability. It was a good decision. Eliminating the stress was really helpful.

Do try to come to the Pacific NW. It's beautiful up here!

John

Sophie,

By chance did he start Hormone Therapy (aka HT, ADT, Lupron, etc) a couple of weeks ago?
If so it would explain the fatigue. HT causes more fatigue the SRT and is often started before SRT.

I'm on HT and just returned home from my 12th SRT treatment. I'll take an aggressive walk this evening with my wife. It is hard to get started but I feel much better after the first 1/2 mile.

I wrap up SRT 6/4 and have a hiking vacation starting mid July.

hms

I'm 4 treatments away from completing my SRT. Fatigue has been a minimal issue, mostly when sitting idle, like watching TV. Nothing a 5-10 minute nap wouldn't solve. I've remained active which I believed has helped. I continue to work throughout from home and find myself working more hours then when I used to go to the office. I will be vacationing both the end of this month and end of next month. Looking forward to getting away from work and celebrating the end of SRT. I say enjoy the vacation and take a break when needed.

I didn't notice any fatigue until maybe two weeks of treatments left.  Even then it was only when I was idle for an extended period.  I did mine first thing in the morning and went in to work afterwards.  He shouldn't have any problems.  What little fatigue I did have went away within a few days of treatment end.  Positive thoughts headed your way!!!

I didn't have any fatigue during or after SRT. Went to Disneyland with the family within days of finishing the last treatment, probably walked 13 miles a day for 3 days straight!