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July 11....YEA!....SBRT begins......finally!

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Posted 6/28/2017 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
My sweet wife and I traveled to Tampa last Thursday and on Friday, I did my final MRI and CT scan at the imaging place that Dr. Freeman prefers. Back home on Sunday and Dr. Freeman's office just called to let me know the scans were good, my four gold fiducial markers (now referred to as the "family jewels") are positioned perfectly, and my treatment is scheduled to begin July 11. FINALLY!!!!! The process to get to this point is certainly arduous, particularly when some of it had to be done 225 miles from home, but not that big of a deal. More tedium than anything else. However, it is a great feeling to arrive at this point and know that all is positively progressing toward the treatment. I sure appreciate all the support and information that has come from all the fine people here and I will update my progress as the treatment begins. Maybe sharing that information can be of some help to any new folks here who are still in the "decision-making stage" of this prostate cancer journey.

And just think.......I only have 5 more enemas to go....... smilewinkgrin
Posted 6/28/2017 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Almost there! Best wishes, love the attitude!!
Posted 6/28/2017 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Great news.

Before you know it, this will just be a bad memory.

Keep us updated on your progress,
Andrew
Posted 6/28/2017 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
If you remember, tell her we look forward to seeing 5-year reports from the SBRT registry. There's a wealth of great info in there.
Posted 6/28/2017 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Doire and Andrew.....Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I am definitely excited about getting this done.

TA.....I will definitely mention it to her and report back with her comments. She is so different from any other Dr I have ever experienced and I will always be grateful for your recommendation. Dr. Freeman is without a doubt one of the premier Drs in her field, but she is also incredibly kind, considerate, responsive to any and all inquiries, and generous with her time. Those qualities are not particularly remarkable with most of the Drs I know.
Posted 6/28/2017 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
19t - One way I was able to "track" my progress through my SBRT treatments was to purchase all the needed Fleet's enemas in advance. I then used as required, and had the visual reminder of just how many of the darned things were left.

Congratulations! Your countdown begins on July 11!

BTW - We now know two SBRT RO's who are so incredibly passionate about caring for their patients completely. Dr. Freeman and Dr. Hirsch, whom she (Dr. Freeman) has recommended to one of our members here (0311). I wonder how many other female doctors are in their peer group, and whether there is some gender-based benefit at work here.
Posted 6/29/2017 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Paxton.....TU for the congrats. It really is a long road through all the preparations for SBRT. It seems like the treatment will actually be kind of mundane....... at least I sure hope it is.

Not sure about the gender based benefit but that could be happening. If I think of it, I'll ask Dr Freeman how many females are involved in her closest circle of peers.
Posted 6/29/2017 12:32 PM (GMT 0)
19t, congrats on your progress towards treatment!

I am one of the "newbies" here, but have finally scheduled my treatment as well (I tried to do as much research as I could after getting the dreaded Dx of Pca). I decided to travel to UCLA since there weren't any Dr's here in Hawaii doing SBRT and because of travel/expenses, I'll be doing the fiducial implants just a few days before I actually start the SBRT Tx. I arr in LA on Sun, will do the implants on Mon and start Tx on Thurs. Keeping my fingers crossed that no SE occur. I'm also getting daily Tx's with a weekend break.

No one told me about the enemas (not a pleasant thought)...I'm guessing that one has to be done prior to each Tx? Can anyone provide me other things I should be aware of in my upcoming Tx?
Posted 6/29/2017 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Pax.....R u having an MRI and CT scan after the fiducial markers are implanted? I did the markers via transperineal route and with general anesthesia. Then I had the MRI and CT scan that gets fused about a week and a half later. My Dr. requires an enema before each treatment and my treatments are scheduled for a Tuesday-Thursday the first week then Monday-Wednesday-Friday the next week. I am also on a low fiber/low residue diet for the days in between treatments. Are u being treated by Dr King?
Posted 6/29/2017 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
PAX-

No enemas or diet changes required for you, just a full bladder. Dr King uses a different machine that is much faster (about 5 minutes each treatment vs about 45 minutes on CyberKnife) so there is less impact of bowel movement. Just follow his directions - every RO has his or her own variations.
Posted 6/29/2017 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
TA....
Thank you for chiming in on that. You had mentioned that before but but it slipped my mind. And that explains the difference in protocol.
Posted 6/29/2017 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
19t-yes, I'm going to have the procedure done with Dr King @ UCLA, the scans will be done the same day as the fiducial implants and they will work out a plan for the Tx within the next two days. It is a compressed time frame but they did this to accommodate my travel issues.

Allen-Thanks for your input...communication with the doc is difficult when doing it long distance, especially with someone as busy as Dr King....but I'll try to shoot him an email to get more info in preparation for the Tx.
Posted 6/29/2017 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
He is very good about responding to emails.
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