Hi Tennis Player and others... We went to Boston Medical Center on Wednesday (4/25/18) and are going for a second opinion to Dana Farber on Thursday (5/3/18) and Friday... I have a good feeling about...
Hi All, Thank you for all your kind words and support. Thank you 81guy... I just signed up on that forum. I hope it is 1/2 as good as this forum in helping us navigate the new waters. Thank you, Tim...
Hi all, First the good news... my PSA, which had bounced to 3.1 from 2.0 upon last reading is 1.2. So things are going well on my PSA front. So I need to update my signature. ------ Now the bad...
Hi Guys, Phew! This makes me feel much better. I didn't realize a bounce is a positive thing! I will do some googling but if any of you have links you could share, that would be great. Thank you, Tim...
Hi, I just got back from my primary for a follow-up on my PSA. I had CyberKnife back in July last year. Here is the recent PSA history: 3/17/17 4.8 5/31/17 6.1 8/18/17 2.9 (First post-CyberKnife...
Good news is what I like! Congrats!...
Hi Northern L, Great news indeed! Good luck! Tim...
Hi Tarpoon, Just wanted to say welcome. I recently joined the club (7/10[Monday] - 7/14[Friday]). I noticed most people don't have the treatment 5 days in a row. I think they did that to accommodate...
Hi IgnoreIT, I'm not sure what part of FL you are in. However, my brother lives in Boca Raton and found it worth the trip up to Tampa to the Moffitt center for his rectal cancer treatment. Some of...
MrBaseball, Thank you for writing me directly. I hadn't checked this thread until now. I see that you are getting similar advice from others here as I gave you in private emails. Main thing is to...
Hi IgnoreIT, I just completed SBRT (CyberKnife) at Beth Israel last week (M-F). So far the only side-effects I have noticed is a burn when I pee. It seems to be already fading. It did not show up...
FWIW: If you are considering radiation, you may find this of interest: Exploring Value From the Patient's Perspective Between Modern Radiation Therapy Modalities for Localized Prostate Cancer:...
Hi FuzzBox, I get together with my piano playing friend Paul once or twice a week or more to sing. We graduated from the basement to the garage now that the weather is (a little) better (N.E. is damp...
Hi, FWIW... and I apologize if this is a duplicate. I just came across this, which is from presentations at the 36th annual ESTRO meeting (05-09 May, 2017)....
Hi Paxton, Thanks for sharing all of that. I hope you continue towards your baseline. It is a little scary to contemplate all of it but at the end of the day your statement that you "wouldn't do it...
Hi TA and Paxton, Thanks for all the feedback on CK. TA... I don't know yet what the prep will consist of yet. I just talked to Dr. Kaplan on Thursday to give him the green light. The actual...
Hi Redwing, Thanks. I checked that out. What I'm going to try to get is what you showed there plus a detailed mapping of where they are shooting from (angle/distance) and to, the width of the beam...
Hi Allen, I had mentioned to you how I got to the cusp of making the decision and did hesitate a bit. You told me to take my time. I think I mentioned that I also decided to skip hormone therapy. I...
Hi Allen, Yes, they use CyberKnife. I believe he said they were around 45 or 50 minutes each. Reading about the plans is interesting as it involves software and I'm a Software Engineer by trade. It...
Hi, I'm beginning my (deeper) research of CyberKnife technology as I've signed up for treatment at Beth Israel starting in early June. I'm researching about the methods of developing "The Plan" so...
Tarpon, Thanks for posting this question. I just "signed up" for SBRT (CyberKnife) at Beth Israel with Dr. Irving Kaplan. Treatment to start in early June. As you know the first step is to have the...
In the short time I've been on this site I did get a feel for Jim's kindness and sense of humor. RIP Jim....
Hi All, Please go to that link at the beginning of this thread if you have time and motivation (I know you have the later) and post a comment. I've been waging a personal war over there with the...
Hi All, I came across this confusing article today that suggests men (they were not specific so I guess this applies across the board ... all ages and situation) should not have PSA tests. To me this...
Purgatory... Sounds like one hell of a week. I'm sorry that you are unhappy with your Oncologist. You might ask Tall Allen for recommendations. He has helped direct me in that respect. Good luck and...
Thanks Paxton. How are you feeling now? Are you happy with your decision? Did you also go with hormone therapy? I met with Dr. Irving Kaplan of BI today (thank you TA for recommendation). I was...
Finding this site turned out to be a very good thing for me personally. I haven't been here long but many people have helped me a great deal. I'm impressed by the dedication and knowledge of the...
Checking to see if any members have had Cyberknife treatment at Beth Israel. If so, I would love to hear your experience and results. Thank you, Tim...
Hi Laila, Thank you for taking such great care of your Dad. God bless and best wishes. Tim...
Hi Andrew, Maybe I should change my signature but I consider myself an "unfavorable intermediate risk" member. This is because Johns Hopkins review knocked my 8 down to a 4+3. I will know even more...
Hi Again, I thought that since no one is answering this question that maybe it is a dumb question or something... Anyway... I started googling around elsewhere and found this:...
Hi All, Please see my original question if you have a chance today... I'm going to see my first M.O. today and wanted a little preparatory info first. Thank you, Tim...
Hi, I was wondering if with the shorter duration of hypofractionation and SBRT whether that changes the duration of ADT? Along those lines... even with standard fractionation, what is the latest...
Congrats! This is great news indeed. Very encouraging. I'm starting 6 months of HT (thank you JH for knocking my 8 down to a 4+3 and shortening my HT period). I'm very nervous about it but hearing...
Hi Allen, I did fill one of those forms out. At Cape Cod Hospital when I met with the R.O. there. I don't believe D'Amico had access to that but I could be wrong. Anyway, my total was 7. I don't know...
Hi Allen, I'm only 63 so the test, I guess, is moot. I'm going to ask Dr. D'Amico about this. Thank you, Tim...
Hi Allen, Ah... once again you caught me skimming... OK. I want to ask Dr. Amico about this ... I was never tested for that score. It is based upon my verbal statements, I believe, that I have to get...
Hi Allen, I sure wish things were clearer than mud! So why does this study seem to agree with Dr. D'Amico. This seems relatively clear (in a muddy world):...
Hi Jay, Your welcome. Good luck and keep us posted. How are you handling things so far? Are you on hormone therapy too? Thank you, Tim...
Hi Jay, No... he was specifically speaking of hypofx (hypofractionation)... so, by both methods he was speaking to the shorter course of IMRT and SBRT (cyberknife). And this was in context to...
Hi Allen, This seems to buttress his argument about men who already experience urinary issues before treatment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805927/ "Conclusion: The...
Hi Allen, I asked for the technical definition of the issues Dr. D'Amico was concerned about with hyprofractionation so I could do some more research. He said: "With both forms of hypofx there is the...
Hi Allen, I'm back from seeing Dr. D'Amico. Very impressive. He said that specifically for someone like me that already has issues with frequent urination, the tried-and-true standard fractionation...
Hi Allen, I'm going to see Anthony D'Amico tomorrow and I just made an appointment to see Irvan Kaplan on Friday 3/31. I pretty much know what D'Amico is going to recommend based upon what his Nurse...
Hi, So I talked to the Nurse up at Dana-Farber (Brigham and Woman's). She said that the course of treatment they use there is very similar to what the local Cape Cod R.O. recommended. That is IMRT...
Hi Gemlin, I understand what you are saying and for sure... having that pathology is valuable. At least the PSA is a good indicator. Although even there, from what I understand, it goes down much...
Hi Gemlin, So your report has similarities to mine. If I understand, in the end the lymph nodes were fine but there was some capsule breakthrough that the MRI didn't reveal (or was missed somehow)....
Hi Andrew, OK. Maybe it is that my older brother had a pretty bad case of rectal cancer (made it to his lungs and liver) that I'm reading into this a bit. But "mesorectal lymph nodes" sounds like,...
Hi All, So for going up to Boston they requested that I get disk copies of my bone scan and MRI reports. I went to stick my MRI report into my computer to take a peek (as if I have any idea what I'm...
Hi Jay, So you went with the "full fractions" (or however it is said)... I sent and email to the doctor I'm going to see up at Brigham and Woman's asking if they offer hypofractions or SBRT. I didn't...