Start of radiation treatment

[Guest guest]



Hi Jim,

All the best with your radiation treatments. I had 40 sessions from September to early November 2008. It is important not to move, but don't try to hold your breath during the sessions; the periods of radiation are just too long and you'll end up taking one almighty breath which causes greater movement. Just breathe normally. I had quite bad headaches during the first week but my Radio/Onco told me it was because I was too tense on the treatment table and the muscle strain was causing the headaches. After the first week I learned to relax and the headaches disappeared straight away. Don't be afraid to mention any problems you have to your Doctors while you are having treatment. I found the treatment much easier to tolerate then I had expected.

Malaga, Spain

[ProstateCancerSupp ort] comments re: Tom Lauterback's problems

Tom,

I had a similar sounding situation.

I had a Brachytherapy procedure back in January and about 3 weeks later developed an apparent "radiation burn" from the radioactive seeds. Very rare.

Anyway I was retaining enormous amounts of urine and had to be catheterized numerous times which was actually a relief.

My Prostatic urethra was very inflamed making it hard or near impossible to urinate any volume and causing 650 cc or so retention in my bladder.

It was the most awful thing I've ever been through. I was put on a short regimen of cortisone tabs and Naprosyn.

My Urologist who is great kept stressing that the main variable was "time" for the swelling to diminish.

He originally thought I'd need a TURP but decided against it, much to my relief. He put me on a robust regimen of "Rapiflo" which I found to be much more effective than Flomax. After about 2 months of sheer misery my symptoms have diminished dramatically. He gave me a Foley Catheter twice but then told me that it's not a good idea to use it for too long.

He showed me how to do self-catheterizatio n which terrified me at first but is actually no big deal. I would advise you to ask your doctor to get the swelling resolved with meds and time and would definitely not have any further procedures at least until the swelling subsides.

I was supposed to have 30 EBRT treatments after the Brachytherapy but my Doc said "no more radiation for you" and I agreed.

I feel for you, but I would say that the aforementioned advice though from a layman, should be seriously considered.

When I was in the middle of my ordeal I was pretty convinced that my situation would not resolve and that I would be a "urological cripple" for the rest of my life, but it definitely did improved greatly over time. Hang in there. Things WILL improve.

Sy