Any guys <= 50 had brachytherapy?

Unless my upcoming 3T or PSA suggest different, Brachytherapy is my leading option, today anyhow.

I was told that few guys my age get brachy. Not because its not viable or effective but because surgery is the "standard" especially for younger men. I don't want to debate that position because we all have our opinions but I am curious about the experiences of the 50 and under crowd.

As usual, thanks for your input.

John

Quote from Dr Dattoli in debunking myths of Brachytherapy:
Myth #6 "You are too young to have Brachytherapy" this is yet another falsehood. In this regard outstanding biochemical outcomes have been reported for younger patients and this group has the most to gain (reduced risk of urinary incontinence and/or erectile dysfunction.) Of the numerous studies by Blasco, Kwok, Kollmier and Dattoli all have mean and median follow-up which is equal or longer than the surgical series published in the psa era"
I had Brachy at 64, which is out of your age range, but over 4 years out I have no side effects at all and psa has been a consistent 0.1 down from 40 pre treatment.

I think BT is perfectly viable for younger men. I considered it but went for surgery for other reasons, perhaps including some frivolous like duration of treatment.

I think one genuine concern with BT for very young men is the longer term studies that are not there yet. But I wouldn't let that stop you.

Can't recall who amongst us had BT at a young age, someone will step up to share his experiences.

Thanks, davidg.

I had brachy earlier this year, although I'm somewhat out of your age range at age 52. My age didn't really come into play--I thought brachy, in conjunction with IMRT and HT was the best option for my particular situation. That said, my urologist pointed me towards surgery partly because of my age and I do think there is a tendency for younger men to be prodded that direction by the medical community. Whether that makes sense or not, I suppose is debatable.

I'd like to tell you I'm happy with my brachy, but the reality is that it's too soon to know what side effects I might end up with. That said, everything has gone well to date and I'm quite comfortable with my decision.

Good luck, I know how hard this is to figure this out!

Michael

John, I was 62 and am now almost five years out and SE-free. But, that doesn't answer your question. Best I can do is share the anecdotal reports of two close friends who had brachytherapy at 50 and 51 respectively. Both are now early 60's, still alive and -- according to them, suffering no sides.

Jim

Charlie,

In case Julie (JustJulie) doesn’t see your post, I am sure she won’t mind me pointing out her husband’s journey. He was 44 when diagnosed; Julie’s current signature shows the following

Diagnosed and confirmed December 2005 - PSA 3.74. Surgery April 2006. with 91 stranded seeds at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. PSA BOUNCE October 2007 (yikes). PSA backing down at next reading. PSA at 2012 (six years post brachytherapy) at 0. (as my husand says, "I don't care what's behind the 0!")

You may like to read one of Julie’s posts

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=710102

All the best to you.
Susan
x

I'm 56 and had seeds implanted March 6 2013.

For me, the idea of surgery was wrong (and brachytherapy right) for two reasons 1.) the recovery time/side effects from surgery are greater than those from brachytherapy 2.) the possibility of having salvage radiation if the post-surgery pathology came back worse than the biopsy showed.

Of course, I don't know if that would have been the case (and removing the prostate just to know the true pathology seems a bit ridiculous) but I am happy with the brachytherapy. I've side effects - urinary urgency and a slow start at times but it is not that bad. Rapaflo ease it along and I am still in the "hot" phase of the seeds - this Sunday will be the third half-life and therefore 90% of the radiation will have been released.

No sexual side effects except less ejaculate now.

Good luck.

CharlieHorse said...
Unless my upcoming 3T or PSA suggest different, Brachytherapy is my leading option, today anyhow.

I was told that few guys my age get brachy. Not because its not viable or effective but because surgery is the "standard" especially for younger men. I don't want to debate that position because we all have our opinions but I am curious about the experiences of the 50 and under crowd.

As usual, thanks for your input.

John

Hey John,
In this business, I've learned that you will hear a lot of unsubstantiated comments and even theories based on selective studies and what you were told sounds very nonspecific and general in nature. Listen from those of us who have been there. In my case, I was told that Brachy was the only option and that surgery was not an option, but if given the choice on what I know now.....Brachy all the way!

Uh oh.  I'm almost two months out from RRP surgery.  I didn't know that eating Greek Yogurt was bad for Pca patients.  I eat a container every morning.  Should I stop immediately?  What's the science behind this? 

For those of you who chose Brachy at a young age, did you also dramatically changed your lifestyle/diet?

I didn't.  but I don't drink, smoke or do drugs and I have always exercised regularly.  I cleaned up my diet a bit but I have more of a problems with overconsumption than I do with eating junk .

I do take a few supplements that I didn't take before too.

ed

 

Fauntleroy said...
Just as important, who performs your treatment, can make all the difference in the outcome.

True that. The learning curve for seeds appears to be very steep, and different protocols are followed everywhere. Because the prostate is soft and moves easily when touched (as when seeds are placed), it takes a lot of skill and experience to place the seeds accurately such that there are few cold spots (where the cancer can survive) or hot spots (which can damage adjacent organs). Stranded seeds have helped with the problem of seed migration.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering, for example, 5-year biochemical tumor control for low risk men was only 88% in 1989-1996, but increased to 98% in their results published last year. They recently published the results on men under 60 years of age who were treated with seeds, and they were equally impressive after 8 years of follow-up. In that age group, 51% who were potent before seed placement retained their potency, mostly without the use of ED meds.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10889379
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21925957
Favourable long-term outcomes with brachytherapy-based regimens in men ≤60 years with clinically localized prostate cancer.

I don't have a story to add as I haven't had treatment yet.

However the more I read on Bracky the more I am considering this as well. I have been booked in for surgery (Divinci) latter this year at the recommendation of my Uro. Whilst I understand the theory that 'your young and you should get it out" I am having difficulty with the side effects of surgery. Whilst it is not a guarantee that any treatment will or will not have SE's, if I did have SE's I would have to like with them longer.

The data doesn't seem to show one treatment of another, only what a Uro recommends (in most cases). I don't think the recommendation that younger men should get surgery should be the basis for selecting the treatment.

All the best.