I am not an expert on radiation therapy, but I have been with others who
went through various kinds of radiation therapy.  It is not as precise as it
sounds and it does cook the surrounding tissue as well.  Further, it takes
as much as 10 weeks for the healing process on other organs, it likely will
take that as well for the prostate.

Let me respond under 2 general categories:  urgency to urinate and causes of
diarrhea.

URGENCY TO URINATE:
Certainly we BPH sufferers experience frequent need to urinate.  There are
several issues couched under the moniker of "BPH".  One known as
"Prostatitis"--an infection of the prostate-- can be quickly ruled out, or
quickly addressed and treated, so, he should do that first.   If he
completed chemo and/or radiation the area will be weakened and MIGHT be
susceptible to an infection that can come from anywhere else in the body,
(past gum infections, dental cavities, body piercings, or from sex with a
partner who had or has those particular bacteria).   Have his doctor rule
out prostatitis, FIRST.  To do so, the doctor must massage the prostate and
examine the fluid under a microscope.  There will be a large number of white
blood cells to indicate prostate is fighting an infection. The doctor will
treat those bacteria with anti-biotics--he may have to change anti-biotics
or try several in combination and do so over 3 or 4 months.

Next...he needs to pose your question to his doctor to determine if there is
a temporary or permanent irritation to the prostate.   If the prostate is
left permanently sensitized from the radiation MAYBE: strong spices, coffee,
alcohol, soy, dairy, might be potential prostate irritants.   That can
result in an urgency to urinate.  Next... take some time to check PROSTATE
CANCER newsgroups.   That might be more helpful than this groupl.  This
newsgroup, here,  is for the luckier prostate guys whose prostates merely
grow too large.  Little is said here about cancers.

DIARRHEA:
On the other hand, at age 71 he may be hitting a food allergy that
anti-biotics sometimes causes--mild allergies to eggs, milk, or other dairy
products.   One of the manifestations of that food allergy could be stuffy
nose/running nose, diarrhea, or irritation of stomach, etc.

Gallbladder is another often overlooked  organ that "wears out" and may be
triggered by dietary changes--if his eating habits changed while on
radiation/chemo it may have triggered a latent gallbladder condition?   That
will either manifest itself as pain in the side, just below the rib cage, or
by the symptoms you mention in your note.  Diarrhea is especially prominent
with some foods either high in cholesterols or simply greasy foods--eggs,
creams, beef or pork, sliced meats, butter/margarine, cheeses, ice cream, or
others.

Finally, another often overlooked allergy that is sometimes developed over
time, is a gluten allergy.  I don't know what causes that one, but the
manifestations of that allergy are very much the same symptoms: diarrhea,
nausea, and/OR stomach pains (after you have ruled out a stomach ulcer, of
course.)   I am aware of a strong coincidence between dark circles under the
eyes and gluten allergies.   (Dark circles =  like someone who lacks
sufficient sleep.)  So, "look at his eyes".

If you want to try food changes to test for any of these allergies...
Eliminate eggs, milks, cheese, or butter,  to see if that solves the
anti-biotic induced dairy/milk food allergy.   Eliminate meats, oils, and
fats and be sure to eat a high-fiber breakfast EVERY morning, to address a
gallbladder problem.  Eliminate all breads, wheats, and anything else with
glutens/flour, if a gluten allergy...(a net-search will reveal much on this
gluten-restrictve diets.)   Hope this is somewhat helpful...

Best of luck to you.

"st" <stop@msn.net> wrote in message [snip] He is 71, he has practiced
sports all his life, lean and healthy until 6 or 7 months ago  [snip] cancer
cells in the Prostate, placed in some kind of drug treatment, (Casodex and
others) and then given around 37 sessions of Radiation. [snip] fast walking
for about 40 minutes [snip] in the last 4 days some irritation, he blames
maybe certain spices in the food or about 1/4 of small glass of wine [snip]
If he got the drug treatment and the radiation, shouldn't he be back to
normal?