UCLA - SBRT to radiate the Nasty Nodes - Day 1- I have arrived

I am just about finished packing for my trip to LA.

My plane leaves from Orlando at 9:30am in the morning. With no delays, I should arrive in LA about 12:30pm local time. I will be picking up a rental car and driving over to the UCLA Medical campus to check in, pick up my schedule and find the locations of the places I will be going.

As it stands right now, I am supposed to receive a C11 Acetate scan on Tuesday morning and then another CT scan in the afternoon for simulation and mapping. I figure it will take them 3 days (Wed-Fri) to be ready for the SBRT. So I should begin treatment on Monday the 9th and be done on Friday the 13th (Oh Great!).

In my down time I will be visiting with my son, he just moved out there from NYC in late August. I am also looking forward to breaking bread with Tall Allen. Apparently he is only about 15-20 minutes away from the UCLA campus. Allen I am looking forward to meeting you.

As I write to begin the documentation of this for others that may find it useful down the road, I must admit to a little trepidation.

Firstly, is the C11 Scan-- what if they find more nodes or more cancer and decide that I have nothing to be gained from the SBRT.

Then there are the risks of the SBRT on my QoL from side effects. My Onco felt that the nodes were too close to the intestines and organs and didn't feel totally comfortable with radiating them until he learned that I was seeing Dr. Kupelian. He then put his stamp on it. Still there is that risk.

As most of you know by now, my current PSA is 82.5. Surgery and Radiation have failed to provide me with a cure. And 6 or 7 F18 Sodium PET scans in the last 3 years have failed to find any bone mets.

So it is my fervent hope that radiating the only place in my body that seems to have Pca activity will buy me a few more years of QoL before I have to jump onto the HT/? train.

But with a PSA of 82.5, you have to be doing something. I have been proactive in my treatment since the beginning. And there is no reason to stop that now. I have searched out the best docs, found my own clinical trials and been ever vigilant for any changes. This is just the next step for me on my own unique journey with this crap.

That's about it for now, I will update daily if there is anything to report.

"Every Day is A Bonus" and tomorrow may be just the beginning of brighter bonus days for me.

Sonny

Post Edited (Sonny3) : 12/2/2013 3:29:30 PM (GMT-7)

Safe travels.

I hope the treatments work.

Looking forward to hearing your progress.
Andrew

Best of luck, Sonny. For obvious reason, I am watching very closely to how all this works for you. I can understand the concern of radiation side effects, consider the proximity of those digestive parts. But if the doctor feels its safe, then that should give you confidence to continue on your path.

Will this new scan tell with certainty, that there is indeed something PC related in the area being considered for zapping? Or will it be another RO's educated guess, like when we underwent SRT?

Sure wish there was a more exact way of knowing where any remaining cancer is truly located, though in the case of micro-mets, it may be a long time before technology catches up enough to spot them early.

Hope the whole trip goes well for you, and sure you will enjoy the special time with your son while you are out there.

Look forward to your follow up reports, and how things went for you.

David in SC

Thanks guys, I truly appreciate the support. Turning off the computer now so the next update will be from beautiful LA.

Sonny

Sonny, John and I have you in our thoughts and prayers as you begin this next phase in your journey. Will stop by tonight to see if there's anything new from your end.

Good luck, and enjoy your time with your son.

We love you, big guy.

Sephie & John

Sonny, have a great trip. We're thinking about you and hoping for all good stuff!

Marie and Jim

Best of luck, Sonny.

I will be following your posts closely as I have a similar situation only in my case lung mets and Shands in FL.

Don

The very best, Sonny. Thanks for adding to the validation of SBRT and C11 PET/CT acetate scan. I will follow your progress with great interest.

Houseboy

Sonny, glad you made it fine. That parking situation would drive me nuts alone.

To me, you are my trail blazer, so I pray and hope that all goes well for you in this path, as I may be following you shortly the way things are going.

Watch out for those big city folks!

David

good luck at ucla.
harold will be seeing his doc there on wed morning.
and the traffic is crazy!!

Sonny opened a new thread based on the results of the day - follow here:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=2924515