SRT 29 of 39 - Thursday

Good on you David.

It's been four months and a couple of weeks since my surgery, and I remain tired --- in need of a good long sleep and sometimes a quick nap in the afternoon. How you soldier on leaves me in awe David.

One more tomorrow, then you have a couple of days to sleep before you plunge into the dash to the finish line.

I wish I lived close by to help with the driving, or something.

The cheer you hear from up here in the frozen north is:

Sheldon AKA Sleepless

Sheldon,

I appreciate you sincere care and offer to help. I wish all of us here at HW lived close enough to help one another at times in real life.
My wife is wanting to take time off work to help me get through the last 2 weeks, but I hate for her to use up her PTO hours to drive me 13 miles each way. It's not the driving there and back that wears me out. It's the radiation.

My techs saw the difference in my face today, and wanted to know if I needed any pain meds. I thanked them, told them I had some at home, plus can't take them and drive.

They did say, that with RT, or SRT in this case, the toxcity of radiation poison not only builds up through the 5 treatments during the week ,but builds up with each passing week. They said it was evident that my body was very sensitive to it, some of us, some of us aren't. I knew this would be a rough path for me in particular, one that I had hoped and prayed I wouldn't have to travel for the second time in my life.

Yes, I am nearing the end, but it will still be a long 10 treatments in my book. When I left there, took both women to help me up again, felt kind of stunned and dazed to be honest. Searing pain in my penis and rectum, entire abdomen was sore and swollen feeling, very sensitive to the touch, and of course ,the SP catheter tube exit felt like it was on fire. By the time I changed back into my street clothes and started walking away, was so nasueated that for the first time, thought I was going to hurl.

This SRT just has to work, that is what I keep convincing myself, would hate to think all this additional pain and suffering was ultimately in vain. The jury is still way out on these results.

The support here is great. And like I have told anyone that will listen, for whatever little bit of good I do here for others, especially our newly dx friends, I still take more from here than I can possibly give.

I know my current story isn't a pleasant or particually happy segment, but I feel duty bound to give an honest first hand account of how SRT came about for me so soon, and what that journey is like.

For the 90% of men that breeze through RT and SRT, I am not jealous, I am genuinely happy for them.

David in SC

Ps Sometimes one doesn't know how much of a fighter they are, until they are in the ropes. Right now, I honestly feel that my brain and self determination is way stronger than my weakening body is at this point. If I were to listen to the pains of the flesh right now, I would drop out of SRT and call it quits.

Just think - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Then Its over!!!!

Larry

 

David,

Sounds like you are getting tired as you near the end of your treatments ,I guess even 10 at this point seems endless.  You have been very strong and given the rest of us a deeper knowledge of what is involved when a recurrance happens.  For the first time in a year I am able to urinate without intense pain and not running to the bathroom but I feel this will be short lived.  I go Monday for my follow-up PSA last one was 0.3 if it goes up I guess my next stop is radiation.  I would feel better about going in if I thought it was a local recurrance but cannot seem to find any information on my stats that indicate local.  I was so happy with my good Path report at the time and my surgeon was so sure he got it all but it goes to show this monster is always hiding and waiting.

Hang in there you are in our thought and prayers.

Jerry & MJ

David, I doubt you wanted to be icon but you sure are an inspiration to me and others. You are almost at the end and in the winner's circle!

Jerry1, I don't know a fraction of what David and the others know about PC so I can only relay what my urologist/surgeon told me today (note the similarity between your stats and mine). He said although my margins were clear, the pathologist doesn't examine every bit of tissue and therefore could miss some cancer tissue (and therefore still a local).

Good luck to all,
Jake

Jerry, I had pretty clean pathology too, and didn't expect re-occurance for years at best. PC does what it wants to do, you have to make up your mind about that. Logic or fairness has nothing to do with it. I hope you do well ahead.

Michael, I can hope for the day that this will be a bad blur in the past. That would be nice.

Jake, definitely not an icon, not worthy of that honor. Just had a few bad twists and turns in what should have been a simple thing. Trying to make the best of a bad thing.

Jeff, thanks, I have gone from staying busy while going through SRT, to now just existing to make to the next treatment.

Ohio, my wife is on stand by for that honor if needed, and my youngest son works 10 mins from the clinic if I ever walked out of there unable to drive

Bill, thanks, in some ways, it was a fast week, just not an easy week.

Thanks, Bill. Haven't had a chance to speak at you for a while. I just consider our PC journeys the luck of the draw.

Jerry, I went through those same feelings and emotions for a while when it appeared I would be dealing with a quick re-occurance. Took me a while to come to terms with needing radiation, especially since I had such a hard time with it years ago. In the end, if I have to go down one day because of PC, I am going to go down fighting with all I can. Good luck to you.

David in SC

Hi David,

Just 10 treatments left. It's easy for me to say but I can't imagine how much suffering it means for you. I'll be intensely watching the countdown continue until its completion. At that time I and all others on this forum will bask in the success of your treatment. Can't wait for the celebration to begin!

Hang in there,
Bob