IMRT here I come.

Finally met with a Radiation Oncolongist @ Duke last week and I am getting ready to experience a new journey that includes Radiation therapy. I am scheduled for my CT Scan & MRI this coming Monday and the treatments will probably follow within 10 days. Any thoughts from others on what to expect and side effects would be helpful.

Sorry I've been away from the board but my wife has been having a tough time with her auto immune disease and a bleeding bladder which was a result of her chemo therapy. Way to much sh-tuff going on.

kdnole,

I finished my 37 treatments of radiation (IMRT) last June and have had minimal side effects. I stopped wearing pads a few weeks before radiation treatments (5 1/2 months after RP) but now I have to wear 5 or 6 a week, mostly stress incontinence with very little leakage. I thought I was going to have problems with diarrhea and fatigue after 4 or 5 weeks but was told that at my age I wouldn't have any fatigue issues and fortunately I had no diarrhea.

The treatments are like getting a dental x-ray but longer. I'm sure everyone is different but my treatment consisted of being lined up on the table (using 3 period sized tatoos for guides - 1 on each hip and 1 at the base of the penis) and then having 2 or 3 x-rays to be sure I'm properly positioned. I was then "zapped" for about 30 seconds each from 7 different angles (360 degrees at every 45 degree angle except 180 degrees). You should have a full blatter during the procedure so I drank 24 oz. of water 1 to 1:15 hours before my treatment time. I only live 20 minutes away so I called before I left the house (self employed, home based business) to make sure they're weren't backed up. If they were I just partially emptied my bladder and drank more water. They did a blood test once a week to check my blood cell count and I saw my radiologist once a week also.

They'll give you a consent form to sign with all kinds of nasty side effects listed but the worst of them are rare. You'll get to know your radiation technicians very well. I can't say enough good things about the group that took care of me, they were fantastic. Good luck and keep us posted.

I am going into my fifth week of salvage/adjuvant, I am not sure how to classify it because it is 2.5 years since the Da Vinci but my PSA when I started treatment was .08.  Consitipation has been my biggest issue but I have gone back to my normal diet which seems to have resolved the issue.  I do feel fatigued and it is actually worse the further I walk each day.  Really tired at the end of the work day if I do four miles at lunch. 

I do not have to fill my bladder which is nice and they work off three pen marks that they refresh as necessary for alignment.  The machine stops nine different times each visit and beams me for different periods of time at each stop.  The doctor told me the length of time can vary based on the quality of electrictiy that is being provided to the facilty by the utility company.  I am concerned about side effects down the road such as ED and incontinence but I guess we will deal with that if and when it comes.  As I told a friend of mine, if my penis can survive everything it has been through the past 2.5 years then if should be a candidate for cloning.

My hope and dream is that I will come out of this and be able to close the Prostate Cancer chapter in my life but that may not happen. 

The phsyological impact of cancer has been the toughest part for me to deal with.  I have been blessed to have lead a relatively healthy life to this point but I am a worrier and it stays on my mind alot which creeps into work performance and my home life.  Everyone is different but no one should under estimate the impact cancer has in someones life, it is profound for most.

I am scheduled for 40 treatments up to a total dose of 70.20.  I questioned why not 80 when the latest research says the higher the dose the better the results.  My doctor said that without an intact prostate and the presumed low tumor volume this dose should be more than adequate and greatly reduce the chance of side effects.  I hope he is right.

Good luck!

Hi KD,
Good to see you, but sorry you're back. I went through 38 IMRT sessions and was side effect free. I did notice a couple weeks after we finished that I was feeling more energy, but I didn't notice it duting treatment. Hopefully you can avoid the HT as well. That has side effects. I have tolerated them well but they are there from time to time.

Tony

Hi KD, I finished my treatments on 24th Jan, the treatment itself is a breeze, drop your pants, they line up the tattoos, machine buzzes you for about 5 min (in my case top bottom, and both sides.)

Was a drag getting there, as every day was a different time, so I could not plan anything around it.

Symptoms I experienced, tiredness, loose bowels, constipation, big red patch like sunburn on the backside, I am still fatigued, but it's only been 10 days, and still having a nap in the afternoon, still I am a lot older than you.

I wish you all the best with your treatment.

Regards Mal.

Thanks to you all for sharing your experiences as they will help me prepare for the treatments. Hopefully they will go quick and easy becasue I just have way too much stuff going on to mess with this PCa anymore. ;-)

Thanks Bluebird and I hope you are doing okay while we have these wonderful storms in Central NC tonight.