Having IMRT rehearsal tomorrow/Questions?

Hi everyone. Tomorrow is rehearsal day!!

I've been trying to use search bar for answers to questions about what to expect during my IMRT treatment. I can't seem to find recent posts from guys that have or are going through this as part of triple play. What are the SE . Do you experience them immediately and what are they.

I've read that there can be urinary problems, issues with diarrhea, fatigue. And getting on a regular schedule with bowel movements has me pretty concerned. Do guys experience pain or burns on the skin?

I know ...I can ask my dr all these questions tomorrow, but would really like to hear from you so I don't forget something. And that I can feel better knowing info from you that have gone through it is very important to me.

Does the fatigue get worse on top of the HT. The fatigue part of HT has been the most troubling to me.Any input will be greatly appreciated.

I'm just getting nervous . It seems like I've been waiting forever to get to this point and now it's upon me me and the unexpected is getting to me...you know what I mean...

Thanks Mark

When IMRT is the last step in the Triple Play, it can be a bit difficult to ascertain what is an IMRT side effect and what's HT or brachy. But...in my case IMRT was the mildest part of the whole process. Following my brachy I had somewhat more urgency and the IMRT seemed to make that worse--or maybe that was simply because I had to drink 24 oz of water prior to treatment. (BTW, ask about the full bladder requirements--I've seen it related differently here by different people.)

My bowel movements developed some mucous, which was a touch on the gross side, but never affected how regular I was. Cleared up pretty fast after I was done.

No burns, although my brother who had the treatment years before I did said he "got sunburn where the sun don't shine." I've never seen anyone else report that here. I did lose most of my pubic hair over the course of the five weeks.

In my case I never felt specific fatigue that I could pin on the IMRT. Any fatigue I had I always blamed on the HT.

Overall, I didn't find IMRT difficult, but I found it time-consuming and tedious. Good luck to you!

Hi Mark, Like Michael, my IMRT was after my HDR Brachy so it seemed that I had more urinary urgency/burning issues which was taken care of with Flomax. I finished in May and I just started weening my self off of it. I had diarrhea issues almost immediately so my RO changed my treatment plan to lessen the treatments to the lymph nodes. According to my RO, I am one of the unlucky small percentage of patients that has immediate bowel issues like diarrhea. Other than that, it was just get up, eat, empty bowels, start my drive over drinking a tall thermos of water which I would finish about 15 minutes before my treatment, go in and change, zap, change and leave. They did put those little tattoo dots on my pelvis and hips (after they changed my treatment, they redid those so I have two sets). No burns, did not lose my pubic hair as MT mentioned. It is a daily process that you just get into. 28 days gets tedious, especially drinking all that water every morning and trying to make sure I empty my bowels and not have to much gas. That can stop the treatments too. One day the tech told me to walk around and pass gas then come back in (hard to do when someone tells you to). I was at work within 15 minutes of being zapped. So most people didn't even know I was doing anything.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. -JR

The biggest problem is that it's a marathon to get through.

Everybody is slightly different as they go through. Fatigue hit me bad by the end, but others not so much. I had a few bowel issues, but not that much.

Hang in there, before you know it, this will be just a bad memory.
Andrew

I had very slight side effects from the IMRT. No urinary side effects, but I was on Jalyn (Avodart and Flomax). Minor bowel issues, primarily increased urgency, frequency and a little more gas that all went away about two weeks after the radiation stopped. I made no changes in solid foods and maintained a high amount of fruits and vegetables with no problems. I did eliminate caffeine, carbonated, and acidic beverages. I never experienced any burning or fatigue. My wife says I am naturally so lethargic that fatigue would never be evident!! She was also undergoing radiation due to breast cancer and did experience some burning and much more fatigue.

One last thing Mark, I am reminded by Newton's post... My first couple of appointments were in the mid afternoon until I got my normal schedule at 8:30am. Well there were a couple of delays for the afternoon appointments. It seems they can get backed up with machine and people issues so I would recommend if you can get it, a morning appointment. I had no delays when in the early am. Good luck.