SRT 10 of 39, Second full week completed

Glad it's Friday.  Today completed my 2nd full week of SRT.  Hardly anyone there today, so I was in and out in about 30 minutes, they had different operators this time, and they didn't have all the alignment problems that went on all week.  Don't know what the deal there was.

Back home, nausea once again, and any thing I eat turns liquid real fast if you know what I mean.  Baffles me to think that I am only 25% done with this nonsense.  Got a ways to go.

Well, don't have to worry about it till Monday afternoon.  Monday I see the Uro/Surgeon in the morning, the Radiaton Oncologist in the early afternoon, and then treatment #11.

David in SC

Sheldon, I hope you stay in the 90% range where you won't need to go through this. But thanks for the good words.

Kev,

I noticed all of us above are stage 2 guys. I think where my unluck has come into play in the cosmic game of PC, was my PSA velocity both pre-surgery and post. I am a living example of those that believe that PSA velocity plays a tremendous role in not only re-occurance but in mortality with PC. Though hoping the last part is not true for me.

My radiation oncologist whom I really like her straight talk and professional mannerism, feels that I have a 40% chance of the SRT stopping the cancer. My velocity issues is the number one reason I am getting 39 sessions with a total of 72 greys as a salvage treatment.

I hope this time to have the luck change and get to be in the 40% group that this works for me.

I will have used up my two best guns for fighting this cancer in just barely a years time when this is completed late November. I never expected that.

Thanks guys,

David in SC

David,
I am curious why you only have a 40% chance of the radiation getting rid of your cancer? What is the next step if it doesn't work? I hope this isn't nosey, and please feel free to not answer. Enjoy your radiation free weekend. I hope you are feeling better.

David, I too am a bit concerned over the 40% your doctor is giving you ... that seems awfully low. Our rad onc says the success rate for SRT is very high - go figure. I know the situations are different.

John is getting his flu shot on Monday morning - wants it before he starts treatment since RT can lower the immune system. He's never had a flu short before so hopefully he won't have too adverse a reaction.

Hope you enjoy your weekend. The weather here in the Northeast has been quite cold, and we had wet snow on Thursday in the burbs north of New York City! Hope this isn't a glimpse of what we can expect this winter.

Sephie and John

Hello Sephie,

The 40% figure was in the general range of sucess discussed with all 3 radiation oncologists that I had spoken to in advance. There are risk factors that can vastly change one's odds, and they include PSA at time of surgery, PSA doubling time after surgery, and of course, what I talk about often, is general PSA velocity. Your final gleason number certainly play a role in this calculation, and then the staging.

Some sources say that out of all the "risk" factors, PSA velocity is the most darning of all of them. I will re-find the source and post it some time.

My rad. oncol. said it is wrong to assume that PC tumors are so slow moving. Many, if not most are, but she said if you have one with the agressive strands, things can happen and change to the worse quickly, even within months sometimes. She strongly believes that any version of a Gleason 7 is potentially dangerous because of the "4" cells incorporated in the mix. Some dr. feel a 3+4 is much safer combination than a 4+3, my dr. doesn't. Once again, another source of confusion.

In your favor, John and I have two different bodies, two differnt medical histories, and two different PC cases, as well as different family genetics, etc. etc. What is happening with me doesn't have any real bearing on how he will react to SRT and how effective it will be.

Even in my case, despite what my dr. has warned me, we won't know till about a year after SRT to begin to know whether this worked or not. I am still hoping for my 40% this time. Just don't want to be on the negative side of another set of odds.

David in SC