SBRT time

As to kids. If you are loving there are tons that need to be adopted. One of my clients and my business partner have both been so inclined and I know the lord blesses them.

As to the treatment it will go very well and probably be curative. It is a superior treatment option and you have made a great choice. Relax and let the rads do their thing.

Best wishes

Jack

Do not follow anyone's advice about diet other than Dr King's. Don't try to second guess him - he knows what he's doing better than anyone else you could possibly be talking to. He knows his machine and he knows what works with it and what doesn't. Every RO has his own preferred protocol.

I do recommend getting plenty of exercise - maybe a run everyday on those beautiful beaches in Santa Monica.

Tell him I said hello

I second the suggestion to stay active. I was able to ride 60-80 miles/week on a stationary bike throughout treatment. I did not have any pain with the marker placement done transrectally. Less discomfort than the biopsy. Perineal placement carries a lower infection risk but I understand a little more discomfort. The actual treatments are comfortable. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hey, Frostypro - You've gotten all the best advice already, so I can't add much. TA is right on point again, in that each RO has their own protocol, so just do what Dr. King advises and it will work just fine. Don't worry too much about your insides during treatment. That's what the fiducials are for -- the machine "watches" them, and if the prostate moves outside the planned treatment zone, the machine will stop and alert the technician who will know exactly what to do to get things back underway.

Yeah, the fiducials were not my favorite part of the process, but they only hurt while they are being inserted - which is only for a very short time. I had mine inserted with only topical pain meds (and a Zanax or two), so I felt everything they did inside. But after the few (very few) minutes of the procedure itself, I was back to feeling fine. I had even less after-effects from the fiducials than I did from the biopsy, and my biopsy was easy.

The treatments were, for me, just an excuse to lie on a raised bed, covered with a warmed blanket, and listen to my choice of music on a pretty decent sound system. Your treatments may not be as long as each of mine was (CyberKnife treatments for the prostate are typically 45-60 minutes. Other machines may be much faster.) but the treatments were really easy.

Side effects vary a lot between patients, so I won't try to tell you what to expect. If you do experience any side effects, come on back to tell us about it, and we'll all tell you if it happened the same way to us. I had some after-effects, but they resolved way before I ever felt compelled to seek medical treatment for them. . . except the hemorrhoids. I finally asked for some topical meds for them - the prescription stuff is far better than anything you can buy over the counter.

Hang in there. You're on the right train. All you have to do is ride it to the station.

Frostypro: I will be looking forward to anything you feel like posting as I hope to be following you on to SBRT in the next month or so. If all works out I will be doing it with Dr. Meier at Swedish in Seattle.

Good luck, be well and let us hear from you.

The beam is on while the arms are rotating. In between the swings, they are just lining up your fiducials. No, you can't feel anything as it's happening, unless you have a weird genetic anomaly. You won't have fatigue - it's only 5 treatments - and especially not if you exercise heavily. Any urgency/frequency may not occur for about a week afterwards. Enjoy the beach!

Frosty,

Welcome to LA! And congrats on your treatment process so far. If you don't mind walking a little bit then try parallel parking on the other side of Wilshire. It's free after a couple of metered spots. I haven't paid for parking there since my first consultation with Dr King. If you're getting treated mid-morning then afterwards you might consider having a delicious lunch at Posh Cafe just around the corner on Wilshire.

Best wishes,
Jim

Good luck w/ everything, hope all goes well.

Sweet thread of updates, Frosty. We've come so very far with that technology. Thanks for posting

Wilderness.

Congratulations Frosty. Sounds like all went well and you were definitely treated by a fantastic team. I am almost two months ahead of you and your description of the way you feel is so familiar and brings back some recent memories. The mild pressure may be tenesmus and you just want to learn to ignore it because responding to it can cause or irritate other issues such as hemorrhoids. You may have some urinary irritation for awhile but honestly at your age and being in good health otherwise, I bet you will have very minimal side effects. On a side note, I exercised very diligently throughout my treatment prep and treatment and I believe that helped enormously. I wish you the best Frosty.