How long do radiation and hormone therapy side effects last?

Recovery timelines can vary significantly from person to person, and these side effects are commonly experienced during and after treatment. Many patients find it helpful to discuss symptom management strategies with their healthcare team, as they can provide personalized guidance based on your specific treatment plan and may suggest ways to find relief during the healing process.

I went through the surgery and radiation. I am still on hormone therapy. Some fatigue and hot flashes periodically. Some muscle weakness. I still have a year and a half to go on hormone therapy. It is worth it to be alive.

Did you have your lymph nodes removed also

Yes

I had radical prosectemy surgery in 2006 and it never came back but I have multiple myeloma now since September 2023 and still dealing with that. Getting treatment at va hospital

I'm glad to hear you survived the dealing with prostate cancer. It gives me hope to hear that. I hope your treatment you are having now is working for you. God bless.

Had prostate removed 20 yr ago. After all those years, PSA increased and I was told that radiation was recommended. After 40 treatments the symptoms slowly disappeared. My oncologist told me quite often the side effects seem worse immediately after treatments. It was that way with me, but rest assured that there’s a good chance that after a few weeks they will be gone. It can be frustrating, but hang in there it gets better and better each day. Good luck

I had simple prostatectomy in 2021 after 12 months hormone therapy. I then completed a 45 day proton therapy treatment in 2023. In October 2025 following a biopsy, I was declared cancer-free. The treatments caused side effects like hot flashes during the hormone therapy, swelling around the ankles and legs. Those symptoms have subsided. Minimal Incontinence is ongoing. I am grateful for the care received and the positive outcomes. I feel that maintaining a positive outlook is key to surviving the treatments.

My experience seems to have been different from other commenters. Shortly after my treatment ended in June 2024—treatment was 42xEBRT and 4 months ADT—I learned the extent to which the deleterious side effects had been soft-pedaled or never mentioned by my “Care Team.” I developed just about everything mentioned in every comment above, and for nearly two years most of these got worse and none alleviated. So I did what I should have done before I acquiesced to any treatment at all: copious research on my own … and concluded at New Year 2026 to choose quality of life over quantity of life, in the form of initiating testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) through a concierge medical clinic, which allows me to pay for and make all of my own life decisions. Based on all of the data and clinical evidence I encountered, I’m resolved to losing about five years of life, though it could be less and, with luck, living the max 10 years accorded my form of high-risk, localized PCa. What I’ve regained in my TRT to date includes: 1) a full and vigorous sex life, 2) more than all of the muscle mass lost to treatment, 3) body fat reduction from 23% to the 14% I had pre-cancer, 4) no more urinary incontinence caused by treatment, 5) a penis that’s gone from shriveled, limp, and pale to firm, ruddy-colored, and creates a bulge in my underpants, 6) my highest-ever score on my gym’s Strength Test Circuit—higher at my current age 77 than at pre-cancer 73, 7) VO2max that treatment had reduced from 47 to 37—now 49, and 8) an energy and productivity boost that can’t be quantified, but has drawn admiration from athletes half my age. As I say, these changes aren’t without cost (in money and life), but I’ll take five years of health over 10 years of decline and disability.