My husband

Hi there,

I'm not well versed in radiation side effects, but there are plenty of others here who should be jumping in to offer their advice & comments.

In the meantime, if it seems serious enough right now, you could probably go to an emergency room or urgent care facility today. That might be a way to get reassurance without spending another nervous night.

Wishing him -- and you -- the best! :)
Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Pathology showed Gleason 3 + 3, pT2c, N0, MX, R1
adenocarcinoma of the prostate.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, 9/9/13 PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Firm erections now briefly happening in early mornings, 2 years post-op.

Dabby -

I'm a radiation guy (9 weeks of IMRT, spring-summer of 2012) and blood in urine is something that I have experienced post treatment a number of times.

However, in my case there was always a pattern (which I will ask if your husband has in a minute), and when I asked my uro about it, he explained what was going on in my case.

The pattern was that the blood (bright red, not dark, that makes a difference according to my uro, more on that in a minute) would show up in my urine at the first urination I would have following any kind of heavy lifting, vigorous exercise, bike riding, etc., that stressed the muscles in my lower abdomen.

Here's what my uro said: the radiation treatments had repeatedly burned capillary veins in my bladder wall, causing them to become brittle following so many exposures to the radiation.

Therefore, any body movement of mine following radiation that put a lot of pressure on my lower abdomen would break those now brittle capillaries, causing them to spill blood into the urine then in my bladder, which I would of course then see at the next urination. The brittle capillaries would eventually repair themselves (although it would take time because they were now brittle) and the problem would clear itself up, but maybe reappear the next time I did any exercise, etc. that would cause movement of those muscles, breaking the brittle capillaries, and repeating the cycle.

My uro referred to the problem as one of "capillary fragility as a result of radiation exposure."

So, does your husband notice the blood in the urine soon after he has exercised, done heavy work, etc., that may have stressed his lower abdominal muscles? If so, he may have the problem I have which I have just described.

One other note: my uro said if the blood is bright red, it's likely directly coming from the bladder area. But if it's darker in color, that's a sign that it's probably coming from higher up in the body (which may or may not be more serious).

Please note one more thing that needs to be said here. It needs to be understood that none of us here are doctors, and when we do describe our own situations, that is in no way meant to be any kind of formal medical assessment of anyone's situation. (But you probably understand that). We only just describe what may apply to someone else's situation.

But if what I have just described about my own situation seems to apply to your husband's, then at least I have given you an idea or two about what may possibly be going on with him.

I hope this helps. But if his blood in urine doesn't clear up reasonably soon (your call on what that would be) then a call to his doctor at the least is something you should consider doing.

Peter is correct. my doctors were not even concerned and it did pass after a few months of increased urgency, pissing fire and occasional clots of blood.

ed