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The Vault. My 25 days of IMRT.

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Posted 10/8/2018 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Idog, I am happy for you being done & thank you for posting this. I am on day 10 of 44. Today they stopped after the CAT. I asked after what happened? "oh nothing a doctor stopped by to see the alignment. It was fine," said the radiation therapist. I haven't experienced any SE yet. The 24 oz of water hasn't bothered me. I guess there are some benefits to a neurogenetic blatter. Yesterday I had an MRI on my knee. It took them 3 tries. After that, I went to an introductory improv class. If you haven't tried that and it is available in your area I highly recommend it. I forgot all my troubles just trying to keep up.

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68 yrs., marathon runner, 9 of 44 IMRT, 10.5.18. PSA .012, 8.12.18, 1.42 June 18, 2018 (Lupron 5.21.18 & 8.15.18), 12.7 May 2018, 13.7 Jan. 2018, 2.1 May 2012. SpaceOar 9.6.18, testosterone <.7, 8.15.18, Tot Mayo 19 ng .17 testosterone Free 6.18.18, Gleason 3+4=7 involving 15% of the right apex and 15% of the right mid, 3+3=6 prostate cancer involving 5% of the left base. Pathology interpretations by John Hopkins, UNM Cancer, and SF Path 3+4=7 or 4+3=7 MD Anderson Proton Center w/o %. T3 MRI w/ contrast 1.8 lesion left side 5P, Neg. Bone Scan. Prolaris test 3.5 consistent with intermediate and a PTEN test negative. Father PC age 78 RT & ADT now 93 yrs. Neurogenic bladder due to lumbar disk disease and recurrent bladder neck contracture with urinary retention man. 20 years doing catheterizations. TURP & scaring 2003, Finasteride 5 milligrams daily since 2002.

Post Edited (SantaZia) : 10/16/2018 5:18:29 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/8/2018 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Great news Idog! I finished my RT late August 2018 and feel pretty good with relatively NO SE! Funny thing is that when I have a beer (rarely) it screws up my stomach and I wind up in the bathroom later that night! Besides that, everything is good! Hope for no SE for you as well! Good luck! Hoping that RT is not the gift that keeps on giving like most have said!
Posted 10/8/2018 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
It's great to be done!

Sounds like you did just fine.

Andrew
Posted 10/8/2018 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Water did not bother me until I think week 2. I was fine until then, after that, yuck.
Yep, most of my bowel problems are because I will not stop drinking coffee in the am, so that's my own fault. Same goes with certain foods. I'm a slow learner at times and I like to push the envelope which has me hanging out in the can at times.
Thx all.
Will create a new thread about my brachy, hopefully that's a short chronicle.

Post Edited (ldog) : 10/9/2018 5:22:51 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/8/2018 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Great news! I finished treatment 25 of 38 today. Only real SE I have is increased urination. It sure does feel good to hit the head once my treatment is finished for the day!
Good Luck with the brachy.
Posted 10/8/2018 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations Idog, on putting this part of your treatment behind you. I hope you have an easy and quick recovery.
And thanks for thisnthread, it’s valuable to those following your footsteps.
Posted 10/9/2018 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
I just noticed that some treatment plans have 26 sessions and mine IMRT has 44. Can anyone help to understand why?
Posted 10/9/2018 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
I think 26 treatments is when it’s primary treatment, and combined with Brachytherapy. I’m having 40mtreatments as Salvage.
Posted 10/9/2018 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
Idog

Thanks for documenting your experience. I start radiation treatment tomorrow. I m told that it will soon become routine, but I admit, it is all a bit overwhelming. You have helped me wrap my head around it.

Thanks and I hope you continue to thrive!
Posted 10/9/2018 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
Primary IMGT is often hypo-fractioned to 26 treatments. Since during SRT you don't have a prostate they stretch out the treatments over 30-40 treatments at a lower dose. Your body can take more radiation if there's a prostate to absorb it.
Posted 10/9/2018 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
Oh yeah, I asked the tech if I could look into the apparatus that administers the radiation. He looked at me like I was kind on nuts, but said sure, why not. He spun it around and the inside is a trip. It has numerous layers of metal with different shapes that are constantly moving/shaping when administering the dose. Really hard to explain, but it's pretty cool looking.
After my last treatment all the techs, my RO and the nursing staff came out after I got dressed. My GF came in and they all wished me/us luck, and I got to bang the gong, literally. Yes, they have a gong you bang when you are done while they take your pic. I have to say that it was pretty emotional when I left that area for hopefully the last time of my life.
Good luck everyone with your treatments, glad I was able shed some light on the process.
Posted 10/10/2018 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
It's called a multi leaf collimator. The xray beam is constantly shaped as the head goes around the treatment area.Think of it as painting the desired dosage to an irregular shaped target object.
Posted 10/10/2018 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
On my last day they rang a bell, had all the staff there and I got a certificate of completion.

I've been fortunate that it was the only treatment I needed.

Andrew
Posted 10/10/2018 9:15 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks. I started my treatment yesterday and I wondered why there was a bell in the hall way.

One down, forty-three to go!
Posted 10/10/2018 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
Now you know - 43 treatments and the bell rings for you.

Hang in there, it's a marathon.

Andrew
Posted 10/10/2018 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
And here I thought the gong show was something only associated with the facility I was getting treatment at. So much for feeling somewhat special. smile
Hang in there Bob, and everyone else for that matter. I thought 25 was a grind, I feel sorry for the people who have to go to 40 or more.
Posted 10/11/2018 9:13 AM (GMT 0)
Idog--thanks for the encouragement. It sure seems like a big mountain in front of me. 2 down and 42 to go!
Posted 10/14/2018 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
My IGRT/IMRT treatment is primary and it is 44 secions. From all of the replies I understand it should be 26 at higher radiation dose. Is it something I should concern about as my RO during next weekly check up?
Posted 10/14/2018 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
You can ask your RO. The key metric is total radiation. If they're doing 44, likely each dose is smaller per session then those of us who had 26. It depends on whose doing the treatments and what kind of machine they are using.

Andrew
Posted 10/14/2018 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
They use variant 2100EX system and I think the total dosage amount is the key point. I checked my notice from original appointment and the total dosage for treatment is 7920 with daily dosage of 180. I do not mind to do 44 sessions at lower radiation. I think it also helps more for healthy tissues to recover and therefor have less side effects compare to higher radiation dose. All I concern is PC treatment outcome must be same regardless of how many treatments done 25 or 44.
Posted 10/14/2018 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
I had 40 treatments. I need to verify the dosage numbers with my RO next month but the first 26 visits were targeting my lymph nodes at 46 Gy, The remaing 14 were aimed at my prostate bed at 26Gy. I found these numbers at my online patient portal they set up for me but its kind of vague. I need to verify the dosage because I thought when I started he said it would 108 or 180Gy per visit.
Always ask questions and write down what they tell you. I forgot most of what I learned along the way. I've only been on Lupron for 3 months but I seem to forget things faster.
Posted 10/16/2018 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Just a quick update at 7 days after my last treatment.
Water: I can finally drink water again. What I mean is that I no longer wake up feeling a tad bit sick knowing I need to consume lots of water at 6:30am.
My tastes buds are back to normal-yay!
I'm no longer getting up 3 times a night from the radiation/Casodex, last night I didn't get up once-yay! For some reason after a week into taking Casodex I started peeing like crazy. Last Friday marked 6 weeks that I have been off it, or pretty much when it has finally left my body.
No discomfort at all with peeing-Yay!
Fatigue- I really didn't think I had it while on radiation. But now that I'm off of it I have tons more energy, and anytime I lay on the couch I no longer pass out and sleep for 10 mins.
Last but definitely not least, bowels. Last week I thought, oh crap, am I going to have diarrhea for the rest of my life? Nope, that too has passed since Sunday. Yay! Its still a little weird down there, but compared to 10 days ago, I'll take it.
Sill doing the baking soda/Epson salt baths every other night.
I take L-glutamine before I work out which I read also helps with Diarrhea, leaky gut, and whole bunch of other issues.
Seeds in 10 days, should be raring to go.
Peace out!
Posted 10/16/2018 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
Great progress.

It's always good when things get back on track.

Andrew
Posted 10/16/2018 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
Idog

Good to hear things are back to normal. I'm just beginning my 44 sessions. 5 down and 39 to go! You helped me overcome my natural fear of the unknown. Similar to Serge, I'm getting 7920 -- I read a lot about it on line and it seems to be the current standard for guys in my situation. I fell asleep at 7:30 last night--I can't believe that fatigue is already setting in.
Posted 10/16/2018 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yep, for some reason I started hitting the bed at 8:30 telling myself that I just wanted to read longer. 5 mins later, ZZZZZZZZZ.
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