What to expect? IMRT monday!

So its been awhile since I updated on dads condition. Last seen the DR Nov 2nd. PSA had dropped from 53 to 48 since diagnosis in August. So I'm guessing diet, juicing, etc had at least kept it from getting worse in that time.

He had a 6 month Lupron shot at that Nov apt. and just went back last week. His PSA was at .7 which seems awesome to me. He's been doing the Gerson therapy and doing the flax oil and cottage cheese thing too. I guess that there is no way of knowing if those things helped since the ADT would hide that from us now? My question is if the ADT did such a great job lowering PSA why does he need 6 weeks of IMRT plus HDR? Is that overkill?

He supposed to start Monday, did all his prep work yesterday. But he's been physically ill. I mean he's hated the ADT but can't eat or sleep because he's so stressed out about radiation. Can anyone offer advice that might help him be less stressed about this?

ADT has pretty much killed his sex drive and now he's worried he's never getting it back. Not that I wanted to know but his 3-4 times a week has turned into 3 times in 3 months and he's pretty broken about it. I told him 3-4 times a week is abnormal anyway and he should lay off the little blue pill, mom probably appreciates the break. He didn't think I was funny.

hey Kid.....I had the 6 month Lupron and it took a year to wear off.....sex drive IS back with or without the blue pill and ED is diminishing as time goes by( about 80% back now) .....I had radiation ...45 fractions....9 weeks ...5 days a week....I was worried about it too, but it was SO easy I could`nt believe it.....your Dad should not worry about this treatment as it was nothing at all for me as far as SE`s......I am a thin guy ...the Lupron put 20+ lbs. on me and everyone said I looked so much better with that weight on me .......now I`m back to my thin self at about 148lbs.......some people complain of fatigue....weight gain .....emotional bouts ....with the Lupron ....maybe for some , but the hot flashes were what I didn`t like and it took nearly a year to end that ****.........But, again , the radiation he should not worry about ....hopefully the sex drive will return . I`m sure glad it is getting back to some normalcy for me, and I`m sure in time he will be back to his weekly routine,LOL .....e-mail me , if you want any more info on my radiation treatment......good luck .....David

Worry:

Once he actually starts the radiation most of his fears will go away. The treatment sessions are easy. The machine whirs and beeps and buzzes then whirs, beeps, and buzzes some more-- lather, rinse, repeat. And all the time he won't feel anything. It's rather boring. They like you to have a full bladder which makes it a little hard to sleep through the treatments but they only last a few minutes, then the attractive young people will help him up from the table, his insurance is billed another thousand bucks or so, and he's done for another day. Showing up the same time every day can get to be a bit of a grind but, overall, radiation is easy.

There are a few side effects that most guys get. Probably the main one is fatigue. If he watches television he should have your mom watch with him. She should have a notebook where she writes down what happened in the show after he fell asleep. The fatigue usually sets in half way through the treatment and lasts a month to six weeks after it's done. Other common side effects are hemorrhoid flareups (easily treated, his RO can help), odd, gooey poop (a man undergoing radiation can never really trust a fart) and, sometimes, a slight belt-line reddening like the sunburn from a few hours at the beach on a sunny day where his tee shirt is too short and there is a gap between shirt and Speedo.

And tell him not to throw away those little blue pills. The Lupron makes it difficult sometimes to remember what they are for... but he will want them later. And, if his little blue pills really are little blue pills, he is possibly paying too much. There is a generic drug he can get that has the same exact medication as Viagra but costs a lot less. He should ask his doctor about "generic sildenafil"... once he is done with the Lupron and he starts feeling frisky again.

radiation is boring. He should bring a book.
take you pants off
lay on table
put pants back on
go home
repeat, day after day ...

InTheShop said...
radiation is boring. He should bring a book.
take you pants off
lay on table
put pants back on
go home
repeat, day after day ...

Not enough time to read a book though...

SBRT gave me ample time for a book, but they didn't allow that