Two Down, Three SBRT Treatments to Go

SBRT (Cyberknife) session 2 was yesterday at noon. My fascination with watching the machine move around me at many different angles faded yesterday so when I got on the table for my second treatment, I was pretty relaxed and immediately dozed off. I guess not having any side effects yet also contributed to my feeling of well-being and calmness. One thing I have noticed is that the protocol for this treatment varies from one Dr to another and not just as a result of the different machines that are used to deliver the SBRT. Dr. Freeman provides and recommends a low residue, low fiber diet for basically the 12-24 hours prior to each treatment. Additionally, an enema is recommended several hours prior to each treatment. However, I quizzed her at length about those recommendations and she indicated that each person's system responds differently to SBRT and how strictly one adheres to the diet and enema should depend on what you know about your own body. The purpose of the diet is very simple and that is to limit intestinal gas which of course results in movement around your prostate. Likewise, the purpose of the enema is to eliminate stool from the lower area of your rectum during treatment. I have no pre-existing digestive or intestinal conditions and my system has always been quite stable no matter what I eat so I only had to limit the fiber in my diet for the day or even just the evening before the treatment. My daily routine is getting up in the morning and having coffee and when the coffee hits my system, I'm headed for the bathroom. Dr. Freeman told me that if my treatment was scheduled late in the morning and my coffee produced it's normal result, then I could skip the enema. So the point is that there is flexibility in the treatment plan that can be tailored to each individual. The radiotherapist in my treatments told me that my preparation so far has been excellent and I should maintain whatever I am doing. That was good to hear. Dr Freeman's team does not do a body mold and movement is compensated for with the plan that is devised by the radiation physicist and the RO and two x-ray machines that are zeroed in on the fiducial markers. Dr. Freeman typically schedules the treatments with a day in between during the week and after 2 or 3 treatments during the week, the weekend is a two-day break before finishing the following week. It's too early for me to say how I will be affected overall by side effects. After two treatments, I noticed just a tinge of blood in my urine last night and that only happened once. Since then, there has been none. I also got up to pee during the night once and had a little trouble initiating a stream which is definitely not normal for me, but that also is resolved today and so far with no medication. Also, in keeping with the recommendations from this board, my dear wife and I have made certain that the seminal vesicles are still in working order and so far all is A-OK in that department. Even though I will be 70 years old next month, Dr. Freeman is confident that my side effects will be relatively minimal during and after this treatment. She will give me a script for Flomax if I need it but suggested that I not take anything until and if it was needed. I usually ride my mountain bike daily for exercise, but since this area where we are staying is not really conducive to bike riding, I am walking three miles per day on a treadmill in hopes of warding off some side effects with oxygenating my body tissue. I know this is a long post, but I hope that the details of my story, while only one of many, will help someone who has been recently diagnosed and is going through all the unknowns that we have all faced with varying amounts of trepidation. I wish you all the best and stay tuned for the rest of the story, be it good, bad, or ugly.

Skip

Thanks for posting your experience. I am seriously considering SRBT as treatment and reading
as much as I can. Your post is useful. Hope the remainder of your treatments are good and
everything is successful with no significant side effects.

Busman..... Sorry for my oversight. I looked at your info and saw your location. There are numerous folks on here who can direct you to the best practitioners in your area and specific to your treatment choice. That's actually how I ended up with Dr Debra Freeman in Florida. Good luck.

Hey, Skip - Good to hear that you're still just cruising through it. My treatments went that way, too, as I remember writing on HW that I napped through several of my treatments. I did follow the low-residue diet with the enemas prior to treatments, but truthfully neither of those was any sort of lasting bother to me. Just part of the program.

I hope you never do encounter any side effects, but even if you have some as bad as mine, they were not in the way of my normal living style at any time. I did have some abdominal pains that moved around my intestines for a few weeks, but they only woke me up at night about twice. The other times they were an annoyance, but I didn't miss out on any life experiences (work, recreation/exercise, travel, etc.) at all.

I will have to admit, though, that a couple of months after treatment, my ED got worse. We're dealing with that via medications, so far. Won't know the long-term situation for a while.

Just keep up the calm, steady forward motion and soon you will be looking back at this as just another visit to the doc. Then. . . that's what it becomes - just follow-up visits to the doc.