Recent diagnosis of prostate cancer

Posted by Trey on Jetguy's Thread...... 2-21-07 Im leaving in 30 minutes for my first IMRT treatment. I'm having to drink a bottle of water before I get there. I'm a little anxious right now but want to get this thing going. Anyone know if I will notice any changes after I begin and after how many treatments do the cancer cells begin to die? These are questions going throught my head right now. Trey   Trey ~                           @#$%^&*($%^&   G R O U P    H   U   G   &^%$#@^&*(#$               ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~   We will keep you close in thoughts and prayers as you step on to this new stepping-stone toward becoming prostate cancer free.                                                        ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

Hey everyone!!
Got the first one behind me now. It wasn't bad at all. Was only there for 30 minutes. They gave me a special card with a barcode so I could run it under the scanner and go right in. They were very nice and comforting. Left hospital and went to work. I'm on my break now and feel no different than before except its a relief knowing that those cancer cells have met their match and are under attack! I'm off tomorrow and go in at 4pm for my treatment. It's a great feeling to read every word you guys write and I already feel a part of a very special family of friends! Thanks for being there. I'll be back on after work around 10pm tonight. One down and 39 to go! Love you all!! Trey

Way to go Trey - the first one is the toughest. They get easier as you go on. I have finished 21 of 43 and the only change I've noticed is that I am now good at 'holding it'.

Hang in there.

Bill

I had my 3rd treatment yesterday afternoon at 4pm. I worked from 7am until 3:30pm. Last night I was so drained I could hardly move. I'm sure it was a combination of work and possibly the treatment. I got a good night's sleep last night and feel a little better. Just wondering if there is anything my doctor can give me for energy if this continues. I will see him on Tuesday for the first time since before treatment began. I have read what some of you have done to help the fatigue. I will definitely try it. I drank a gatoraid yesterday morning and wondering if another energy drink such as Red Bull may work better. Any thoughts? Trey

Hi Trey

Today was my 3rd of 40 proton radiation treatments. I am retired and luckily don't have to contend with a job like you. I suspect that the stress from starting your treatment and especially your long work day resulted in your fatigue. Early in the game with either IMRT x-ray or proton, we really shouldn't be experiencing much fatigue. I talked to one guy who finished the proton and he had no fatigue; another one felt the fatigue after 4 weeks of treatment. My treatments started on a thursday last week. I was tired later in the day on thurday and friday; on saturday i really felt zonked out. Today (monday) I feel energetic and more like my old self.

I suspect that my fatigue last week was caused by the emotions and stress of finally getting on with my treatments. i am also doing my treatments away from home so i have an environment adjustment. The nurse where i am having my treatment met with me today for the first time--nothing special to talk about. I talked briefly about diet and she said it is important to keep a lot of fluids in your body, especially water. She also said that drinking cranberry juice is good.

I guess that we will be completing our treatments about the same time. It will be interesting to compare notes as we go along, inasmuch as you are getting the IMRT x-ray radaition and I am getting the proton radiation. All the best to you as you continue your treatments.

Dave

hi Trey, somehow I've missed your posts here and was glad to meet you in the chat room last night. it sounds like you are doing well - keep up the great work! will the school where you had a job lined up in VA hold your job for you? where in VA were you going? I live in MD. take care, kat

Hey Trey,       Had a great talk the other night!!!   Thank you for being there   Buddy retired at 50 with 26 years in education (Science Teacher, Guidance Counselor, finished last 4 years as a Multi-Media Teacher)   A wonderful career.   I retired with 20 years as an elementary school data manager/payroll/accounts payable.. And believe me… when I say….    We are loving retirement….        I am so happy to see you keeping everyone up to date.   It’s wonderful to see how many members have come together!!!!   WOW!!!   Soon there will be lots of data for all treatments available.   What a gift we all have to share with others.   Stay close and know you are in our thoughts and prayers… In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

I had treatment 7 today. Missed yesterday because of tornado warnings and they closed the cancer center for the afternoon. Things still going well. Dr. told me Wednesday that he expected me to be totally cured after the treatments and after the first few months of PSA checks, he would only need to see me a couple of times a year if everything was going well. He also said I was not one of his patients that he worried about. Sounded good to me! Hope hes right! Hope everyone had a good day today....trey

Thanks M.Kat for your response. I have friends in the Enterprise area but think they are all OK. I'm really hoping to get to the Manassas area sometimes this summer. Today was treatment 9. Dr. prescribed Flomax. Anyone had any experiences with that? He said things were going well with the radiation. I had to wait 45 minutes today though! Hope everyone is doing well!! Trey

Hi Dave!
Thanks for the post! I will have #10 today. Regarding the Flomax, I 've been noticing that sometimes, usually before I go to bed, that its difficult to start going and when i do, its a really slow stream and takes a while. I also had a slight burning sensation. It hasn't been too frequent but enough to mention it to my dr. I took Flomax after dinner last night. I don't know how long it takes it to start working but I did notice some improvement before bed last night. Dr. Curtis said it usually doen't become a problem this quick into the treatments but I just hope thats a sign that positive things are already happening with the radiation. Hope you are doing well today!!! Take care bud, Trey

Hi Trey

We still seem to be marching along together in step with our radiation treatments.  I finished my 15th of 40 proton treatments today.  You and I will make an interesting comparison during treatment and after (i.e., IMRT x-ray for you and proton for me).  I still have some urinary and bowel side effects, but nothing that I can't deal with--Flomax, Advil and Metamucil help.

In answer to your question, they have to radiate the entire prostate to make sure that they get all of the cancer contained therein.  As you probably know, the biopsy is limited to samples of the prostate and certainly cannot be relied on to detect exactly where all of the cancer lies in the prostate.  This is often confirmed when patients have surgery and find that their post operation pathology is worse than the biopsy predicted.  Lastly, the prostate is not a very large organ and I doubt that they could direct the radiation just to specific areas of the prostate even if they could accurately pinpoint the cancerous areas.

Try not to think about potential ED--just enjoy what you have right now.  Moreover, viagra and other similar pills help those who have had radiation to overcome ED if it appears months or years later after radiation.  There is no guarantee, but I think that radiation patients have a greater chance for achieving  potency with pills than those that choose surgery.

Continued good luck buddy!

Dave

Trey

The onset of ED after radiation usually occurs very gradually; for some the onset of ED may not appear for a long time.  Your semen will go dry a long time before you have to worry about ED in most cases. Just enjoy and don't think about it.  Besides Viagra may be your friend if and when you get to the ED stage.  Don't worry--be happy!

Dave

P.S. I hear that dry orgasms are more stronger and wilder than wet ones!  Besides, no fuss, no muss!  I hope this website isn't censored!