If u r deciding between treatments read up

.2 types of treatment for this usually ....surgery or radiation therapy ... both can cure you if u r lucky ...depending on stats of course ... so. 1 surgury...ok u check in after breing nervousness as hell ...get it done ...home next day ..pain ..foley catheter.. meds a lot of them for a week .sure u r a mess maybe for a week ...but u r home ...peeing freely eating good ...cath comes out ...ok so. Worst thing yourvleaking ok u freak out ...hopefulyy pathology report looks good ... u slowly exercise start to get better because u can drink tons and pee free eat good cause u can crap still ...6 weeks get a blood test and hope u r one of those 8 out of 10 that hit point 2....great for now u r cancer free ...what more do u want .. but instead. You chose radiation like me ...u slowly start to mess yourself up over a month ..by then there is no,turning back if u r lucky u get no side effects but everyone does. Everyone ....look up,side effects of prostate radiation both long and short ...look st proctitus and colitis ..look hdr brachytherapy side effects. And ask your drs about all of them and listen to them lie to you ...itbnot good ..I fell for it ..u slowly mess yourself up day after day and all of a sudden 3 weeks later u r screwed u can’t stop now ..wow all of s sodden I can crap right ...oh man I can’t pee good at all ..now I’m on flowmax probiotics . Getting yo 7 times to pee a big mess ...that could take months to heal if ever and it make you forget about the cancer itself ..then I you doever feel good again ..u hsve to wait 3 months for a blood test to see if your levels are going down .....ir you are as unlucky to hsve to the hdr brackytherapy near you ,......run the other way .. seeds may be different .it’s just an experiemrnt test .....radition should only be a salvage procedures or for people that can’t hsve surgury....period ...am I upset u bet your butt I am ..and it’s my fault I chose it but drs should Inform u that hey you know that radiation coukd really mess you up u might want to think about surgery.......most surgeons won’t say anything about radiation..they will say don’t do it there is no plan B guess what they r right ,..I went to UCSF they do it all ...yes they do salvage surgery. They do combo treatmet they do this and that even the surgeon best of the best over 6000 of them talked about radiation to me and said he has no preferences over which treatments thry both hsve the same outcomes ..if u dint feel comfortable with surgery then do radiation u will hsve the same chsnce fir cure ...well I got suckered big time ...

Post Edited (Stan1961) : 8/18/2018 12:53:40 PM (GMT-6)

Stan, as you know, we are all very sorry for you having a bad ex-erience. As we’ve told you many times, you are an unlucky exception, not the rule. Lots of guys have very manageable issues during radiation treatment that slowly resolve a month or two after treatment ends. And as we’ve told you, there have been horror stories on surgery as well, and they too are the exception rather than the rule.

In short, there is no free lunch. Every treatment has its risks, and most of the time side effects from either treatment are manageable, and treatments are successful.

I say this with all due respect for both you, and the ordeal you are going through.....in my opinion, your posts are not helpful to new guys coming here and trying to figure out what to do. You are not breaking any rules whatsoever, so you are free to continue posting about your situation. But IMO you should add a comment that you are one of the inlucky ones and that you realize most, or many guys don’t have as hard a time, rather than implore people to avoid radiation at all costs. It’s not an experiment, it’s a proven effective therapy.

P.s. I’m a surgery guy and not biased towards radiation at all.

JMHO. I truly hope things improve for you over time.

"ir you are as unlucky to hsve to the brackytherapy near you ,......run the other way ...it’s just an experiemrnt test should be outlawed .....radition should only be a salvage procedures or for people that can’t hsve surgury....period …"

stan that is hogwash. utter bull dung. my doctor had more than 5,000 prostate brachy procedures under his belt. you started whining on day one and I have already concluded that it's just your nature.

when I had brachy and IGRT I probably got up at least 6 times a night and just dribbled. yeah it sucked but I start my 9th year of post-treatment remission next month and I can have sex and have never once been incontinent.

now if someone told you cancer treatment was gonna be easy then perhaps you have a legitimate beef but I don't believe that's the case.

suck it up buttercup!

So glad I chose RT. That's all I have to say.

It’s true sorry I am seeking help but u til these effects go away nit much anyone can tell me ....just unfortunately have had slot of sad crap happen to me ....in a year ...I live in a good neighborhood suburb but have some well different neighbors ...guy across the st ..older guy physically messed up lonely wife died has a daughter around 30 major social issues poor girl The old can’t take care of himself ocd social issues...well last oct puts s bulletin his head ..right scriss the St..they want 6 grand to clean up mess..well me before all this happened to me decided to help. Wrong thing to do ...family down the corner sadly 3 or 4 kids serious mental issues ....well dad died about 4 years ago ...guess what PC didn’t take care of it let it go ....old man down the street a friend 72 has Pc . And emphesema ..did combo I found out after I started ..well he was good ..then it came back and the gave him 5to8 years ...oh and he had it done the sAme place as me ...so now I am afraid to see him ..so yes I’m tripping a bit .i will get help sorry and thanks

Said I was only going to say one thing....
I can't keep quiet any longer.

Sorry Stan... I've had Rt 78 grays 40 fractions/ ADT 18 months and chemo. None was a walk in the park. It's cancer and the treatments aren't fun and they aren't easy. To come on here and insinuate that one should not chose one treatment because your having side effects is just wrong. We all have side effects. Prostate cancer is not an easy thing to deal with for ANYONE. I'm sorry you are having issues. Do you want to know my issues? We don't have time and I don't think you want to read all that I've been through. We ALL go through this and none are SE free. And if anyone tells you that they are lying.
Most have been very supportive and here for you.I agree with dBell, this post is not heplful to the newbies or anyone.

I am from the school of thought that I want guy's to be real with me. Tell me the truth and hold me accountable. I've been whinny on here, I've vented here... but man..... man up....you will get through this..

"An experimental test that should be outlawed"

Wow! Brachytherapy was first performed in the USA in 1917. The modern techniques have been used since the early 1980's.

That's hardly "experimental". RALP has been in use for less than 20 years, but I never hear anyone calling it a "test".

Sorry for all your issues, but your post was highly biased and way out-of-line with the many reports from other patients.

It has been shown statistically that surgery tends to have more severe side effect immediately--and with longer persistence. Most surgery patients report some ED issues, and a significant percentage have severe enough issues that they later have additional surgery to install an implant. Same for continence. A lot of men are essentially leak free when the catheter is removed--but many, many are not. And a reasonable percentage have to have additional surgery--such as a sling or an AUS later on.

So, no, surgery is not a walk in the park. I probably did not feel anything close to 100% physically for at least 6 months. And now, 3 1/2 years later I'm doing great--but I'm aware that could change tomorrow.

Pratoman said...
Halbert, I know this is off topic, but I love looking at your signature, with all those “<“‘s

We all love it gives us motivation!! We are bothers in arms here...and like real brothers.....we may have a "grag em" out fight every once in a while as well!

I had some burning and slow urination during these past three weeks of external beam. Each week worse so Thursday I finally took Flomax. What a great drug for this particular situation. Amazingly effective. Last IGRT treatment Monday, then the HDR brachy boost on 6 September. Hope I'm good for 15 years. I'll be pushing 80 then.

I have not had ANY side effects whatsoever from radiation although I was terrified
Before I went through it. It’s haven more than a year and half since I had it and
Still good in terms of the side effects.

Sorry Hal. Just keep reminding yourself, no reason to expect anything but a <

Stan,
I am sorry you have some issues with radiation and brachytherapy which other who went same route calling just minor irritations.
At least, you avoided major SE from surgery which are terrible and long lasting and big percentage of RP guys will never recover erectile function to pre surgery level. For many, even Cialis, Viagra, VED, TRIMIX, BIMIX won’t be of much help.
Be happy man! It will get better soon.
MK