Two ?'s RT and colitis history, anyone w/ small children?

Seems like every day I come up w/ new questions. I read somewhere (now I cannot remember if it was in a book or online) that radiation therapy (any type) is not a good option for someone that has a past history of colitis because the radiation will thin the colon and because of the previous colitis the colon is already thin so this could lead to complications. I'm on page 218 of Dr. Walsh's book so he may address this but I haven't gotten to it yet. Did anyone have a past history of colitis and choose RT? My husband almost died w/ colitis when he was 18-20 and then it went into remission and has not had any problems since (will insert he has not had a colonoscopy since then either). I'm also curious if anyone has young children (we have a 6 year old). How much did you tell them? My son knows Daddy has cancer and said tonight "People die when they have cancer". We tried to reassure him that Dad was going to be o.k. but can tell it's already taking its toll on him. He isn't eating well and has been complaining of stomach pain which I am thinking is stress related. We've only told him that Daddy has cancer but the doctors are going to make it better but even though we try to hide it he has heard us discuss details and has caught me during a breakdown a couple of times. An especially confusing time for a six year old. Really wanting to connect w/ anyone that also has small children.

I have ulcerative colitis, which is well-managed with meds (currently Lialda). Because I am at an increased risk of colon cancer, I get colonoscopies every 18 months. After the prostatectomy, they wanted to wait until at least 6 months, preferably 9 months or more, after the surgery to conduct a colonoscopy. This gives the wall of the colon time to recover and strengthen. I had no problems with any of the scopes. I have also had SRT, and my GI doc said that the radiation effects are definitely noticeable, the surface of the colon is "changed" as a result, but that has not led to any symptoms for me. I had no long-term adverse effects to my colon by either the surgery or radiation. In the short term, I had some troubles days after the surgery when I had an ileus - quite painful - but that could have been due to the pain meds rather than the surgery itself.

I would say that your hubby should consult with his GI doc, it sounds like he has had a rougher time with more severity than I have, so I can't speak to his case, but for me, having had mostly asymptomatic colitis recently, it was a non-problem for both surgery and radiation.

Regarding advice on how to deal with the kids, I am sure you will get lots of wise folks here with good suggestions. I think for one, don't volunteer too much info - let them come to you with questions. For another, it is important for them to understand that cancer is usually curable (and particularly PCa, and especially your hubby's Gleason score). Make sure you give them enough reassurance that they can be confident that daddy is going to get treatment so he can get better, and won't have to worry about dying. And third, you have to be strong for them - if you can't hold it together, don't share that with them, hide away somewhere. At that age, they need you to be the parents and they need to feel that you are in control (even if you don't feel that way).

You have lots of time to deliberate about treatment, and even investigating active surveillance (no immediate treatment) as an option. With his numbers, knowing what I know now, I would seriously investigate this.

I wish you all the best!
Jeff

We have two small ones at home, and we haven't told them yet. To be honest, I'm not sure when that time will be.

On our end, aside from researching treatment options and associated side effects, we've been spending more time thinking about the logistics (treatment will be likely done out of town, and we'll probably uproot the family for at least a few weeks), finances and any legal stuff (making sure wills, powers of attorney, etc.) are squared up well ahead of time, so that the days leading up to surgery/radiation/whatever can be as low key as possible.

Last but not least - I'm starting to build a small roster of go-to folks who we may need help from during treatment/recovery. Lots of offers of assistance for me, but I'm more thinking that my wife will be the one who'll need actual help, since hopefully the doctors and nurses have a handle on me.

I realize that doesn't actually answer your concerns, but nonetheless, hope that helps. Your husband and I have similar #'s - hope everything works out for both of us! Make sure you're taking good care of yourself right now!  Good luck.