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Surgery after brachytherapy??

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Posted 4/5/2007 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Can anyone solve a rumor or myth for me....I was told that if you opted for seed implants and then years later your cancer recurred that you could have nothing else done including radical surgery....doesn't sound right but just wanting to know....could find nothing anywhere on the Internet...
Posted 4/5/2007 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
hi JWB

check out my thread entitled "recurring prostate cancer after failed surgery and radiation treatment".

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=753719


yes, there are some medical centers that will perform a radical prostectomy after failed radiation treatment based on your stage of PC. the key is that the cancer must still be confined to the prostate for the most part in order to do the surgery. I believe that Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City is one cancer centers that will do such surgery and there may be others. Apparently there are some concerns about the potential side effects (e.g., incontinence, etc.) after such surgery.

most urologists will tell you that you should have surgery because you can't have surgery after failed radiation treatments. this is not really true because there are some expert urologists who will perform such surgery, although it is more difficult surgery after radiation treatments. i believe that this applies to seed implants as well as beam radiation (i.e., x-ray and proton).

i hope that you are not in this situation. good luck!

dave

Posted 4/5/2007 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks pcdave, No fortunately I'm not in that situation, just recently diagnosed with pc and looking at the options available to me....talking with a pc survivor he said that's what he'd been told....naturally that would make a big difference in option selection!!! Thanks again for the info, you'll probably be hearing and seeing more of my posts as time goes on...right now this is all new to me. Thanks again...jwb
Posted 4/5/2007 9:47 PM (GMT 0)

Hi JWB

we would love to hear more from you.  click on the control panel and consider putting a footnote on your posts which tells us something about your stage of PC, etc.--see my footnote!  take a look at my thread entitled "Proton Radition Therapy--My Journey With Prostate Cancer".  It will give you some interesting insights as to why I selected Proton Therapy compared to other treatments.  Each man has to decide for himself, but getting well educated before making a treatment decision is very important.  You are doing the right thing!  You can get a wealth of information on this website.  A majority of the men opted for surgery, but we are now getting some members like me who selected either x-ray (IMRT or IGRT) or proton radiation treatments.  I think we have at least one member who opted for brachytherapy.

Dave

Posted 4/5/2007 10:03 PM (GMT 0)

JWB:

"...naturally that would make a big difference in option selection!!!"  You are right, it would be one of the things to consider when choosing a Pca treatment, but there are many other factors to be considered also  --  age, PSA, Gleason, Stage, current health concerns besides Pca, treatment side effects, etc.

Good luck as you search for the treatment best for YOU.

Dutch

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