Radiation for me in the near future...

Nice JWB.
Keep it up! You sound good too. You'll recall our parallels and now that I am two months out of the RO's office, I can tell you that you will continue to feel ok with the IMRT. Our story is very close and I hope you are having the same success as I am on the HT. I was in the mountains in Utah this weekend and it was cold and snowing. Man it was cold, and I was riding my dirt bike through the falling snow wondering "where's a darn hot flash when you need one". The flashes have been minimal for me but I do sleep in a cooled room. I will also be in the high elevations either hunting or riding so I don't think they'll bother me too much this winter. I hope this helps you knowing I have adjusted being in cooler settings hoping to eliminate the flashes as much as possible. It seems to be working.

Tony

Hey ~ JWB,

Just touching base to let you know we were thinking of you today!!! 

Keeping you close in thoughts and prayers.

You are just around the corner for your last treatment!!

Stay close ~ Hugs from Lee & Buddy

jwb,
I bet your temps are dropping in Missouri, but rising in your RT clinic. Just an update for you, I still feel good. You know you sound like me describing your IMRT. It was after treatment by about two weeks that I realized that I was having some fatigue. It wasn't that I started fatigue, but rather I was feeling more energy as I was getting away from the treatments. But now all is normal. Yet still, you still sound very good. It does fly right by, and I gotta tell you, I miss the therapists! You get kinda used to their attention. Mine were cool people. They were a bit taken back on how positive I was through the whole ordeal, especially after the post op findings. We had a breakfast club of sorts. The clinic started at 7:00am, and the guy in front of me, then myself, and a great guy (77 years from England) were their first patients. They loved us as we kidded and prodded for two months with them. We were the "good attitude guys". After us the days, I guess, were more serious. With my new English buddy, his wife, and Ruthie we have become good friends. We look very much forward to lunch and wine every couple weeks or so.

Good luck in the your last week and a half. And get your PSA's all the way down. My prayers are for a nice long durable remission for the both of us. For all of us here at this site.

Tony

Yippee!!!!! today I just finished my 35 treatments of Novalis shaped beam IMRT therapy. I had no problems whatsoever, just happy that I don't have to be somewhere at 10am anymore for a while. I guess I'll find out in January how effective the treatment was. Hopefully this will be the last course of treatment I will have to have for a while. Good luck everyone...jwb.

First, JWB!!!! Great stuff. Congrats on passing the finish line. You might notice an increase in energy in the coming days, at least I did. Like you I did not notice anything during treatment. But I did notice I had more energy after. I think it was because the fatigue was so gradual that I just did not notice it. mjr, You should be searching for the differences between Protons and Photons. Protons are very expensive to create and it is done so through a proton accelerator. The object using protons is that the energy is released inside the body using a process called ionization. When the protons are being delivered they actually penetrate your skin and facia tissue before the radiation is released. Proton treatment centers boast that there are less side effects and they can deliver a higher gray than external beam photons. Proton technology is about 17 years old in the medical field and is very effective at treating certain cancers, including prostate cancer. But, things have changed in 17 years and the newer technologies in radiation are 3D Tomo IMRT and IGRT. This does not mean they are better but they are equally as effective at a much lower cost and can now deliver the same gray without damaging healthy tissue. 3D Tomo is a newer device that includes a CT scan during treatment and allows the technician to physically point the delivery of the photons realtime. What makes this technology better is that the human body and its internal organs shift. Your bladder, prostate, and rectum for instance might be in adifferent shape from one day to the next. Thus your body changes but the radiation does not change in conventional treatment. With 3D Tomo you can physically see the target and better point the gun so to speak. This image guiding technology is the wave of the future and will allow better tools to deliver radiation. Both methods are equally effective at treating cancer. I was surgically treated at City of Hope and it is a world class cancer center. In my case there was no way that radiation would have been an effective choice as a primary treatment. Radiation for me was a decision that came after surgey. And I may have decided to use protons but for the fact it was highly inconvenient. I would have had to taken a break from work and stayed in southern California for nearly two months. 3D Tomography is readily available at far more centers and allowed me to keep working. Tomo: http://www.tomotherapy.com/patient/process/ Proton: http://www.proton-therapy.org/howit.htm   Age 45 (44 when Dx) Pre-op PSA was 19.8 Surgery on Feb 16, 2007 Post-Op Pathology was poor: Gleason 4+3=7, 4 positive margins, Stage pT3b (Stage III) HT began in May, '07 with Lupron and Casodex 50mg IMRT radiation for 38 Treatments ending August 3, '07 My PSA did drop out after surgery to undetectable.  It has not returned and I will continue HT until January '08. My Life is supported very well by family and friends like you all. STAY POSITIVE! Post edited to activate link   : ) Post Edited By Moderator (bluebird) : 11/10/2007 7:59:38 PM (GMT-7)

    Great News ~ JWB      Last L.R.T. Day (Last Radiation Treatment)   Extra time during the day a little more energy but most importantly, ~ another step down the road to being cancer-free! ~   Each step counts!!!     I’m a little late getting here but rest assured you have been in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for allowing us to walk with you….   http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/mamabluebird1955/Stepping-StonestoHealingWell.jpg   You’ve just been HUGGED by   * bluebird   ( Lee, Buddy & Murphy too! )   STAY CLOSE okay!!!!!  http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/mamabluebird1955/BluebirdStayClose.jpg

Congratulations on your post radiation 0's.

I am so glad this thread popped up.  It was an encouragement reading all of the stories.  I too will likely be facing radiation 1H of 2008.  If y'all have gone through this with minimal impact and side effects, well then gosh-diddly-yarn (Ned Flanders) I can too.

It was especially encouraging to read the post of the man who had post surgery radiation and 15 years or so afterwards is cancer free.  I hope that in 15 years all of us can have the same story.

Dear Doting,

Actually I started before I was completely continent, less than one pad a day. I was advised by several on this forum to wait till I was before I started IMRT. I quizzed my Rad Doc about it and he seemed to think I would be okay. I guess he was right as I had no problems whatsoever and by the time the treatments were over I was fully continent. By the way, I suffered no ill affects at all with the radiation. My treatment was with the Novalis IMRT machine where they can use blocks if necessary to prevent nausea, etc...I wish your father good luck with his treatments...jwb.

JWB

Thanks for the response! That is great news about your experience with radiation.  Once again, there are so many conflicting opinions, it's hard to make a decision on what to do.  I imagine he shouldn't wait much longer until he starts. Thanks for your help!

I wish you continued  0's and cancer free days! 

    Yea !! JWB,   !!! ~~~ >>>   Woo ~ Hoo <<< ~~~ !!! undetectable   Cause for celebration!!!!!   Definitely!!! What a wonderful day it is ~ each and every-day ….     Enjoy it to the fullest.     *      *      *      *      *      * The ultimate “goal”… we all strive for… Thank you for continuing to share! It is very important to “all ”of us!   This is a way of positive feedback… A way of showing others Hope… and a way of Sharing.   J   Caring is Sharing ~   Thank You for Sharing   J     Wonderful news… I've been waiting to post this!!!! Thanks for staying close!!! It really is good to hear from you! Gentle hugs and warm thoughts are coming your way… Keeping you tucked close!!  Hugs from Lee & Buddy

Hi JBW

It is heartwarming to hear that your PSA has dropped to a low level after your long and difficult journey to date.  I hope and pray that you and others like you will have an easier journey in the future and keep your PSA's at a minimum.  Best of luck.

Dave

Hello Jwb187 et al,

Thanks for starting this thread as I was going to start a new one with the same questions. I am most interested in what you and others had to say about the side effects as I had my first of 39 IMRT treatments this morning. My situation is a little different than most as a lesion was seen on my prostate on a one year post-chemo scan for Leukemia (CLL). The leukemia is still in remission and I had a laproscopic prostatectomy in June. The tumor was a highly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoid. Pathology showed that there was less than 5% adenocarcinoma and about 15% neuroendocrine tumor. Unfortunately, one of my margins still shows the neuroendocrine cells but no adenocarcnoma. Therefore, it was recommended to have IMRT of the prostate bed to kill anything that may be left.

So, I thank all of you that have had both surgery and IMRT for your posts. they were very enlightening with regards as to what to expect in the coming weeks.

Thanks Again,

Bob57