Welcome Dan.  Be sure to search this group's archive at Google Groups.
There has been extensive discussion of seeds in the past, most of it
favorable as I recall.

jimhoney
standard RRP age 52, cured, no significant aftereffects

Dan,

Sorry to see you here, but you landed in a good group of folks that can be
helpful sharing their experiences.

It's true that most of the folks here have chosen the surgery route, there
are also several (myself included) who have opted for brachytherapy, you
just don't hear from them as often, perhaps because the recovery from that
mode of treatment seems to be a much shorter time frame.

Below are a few links that offer some brachytherapy  information. Some of
the information is a little dated and/or opinionated, but the more you
research and learn, it will help you make an informed treatment decision.

http://www.prostate-help.org/
http://www.prostatepointers.org/seedpods/
http://prostate-cancer.org/
http://www.phoenix5.org/menumain.html

Tom

Dan,

You probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway on the off
chance that you don't.  The technical terms for seed radiation
are "brachytherapy", or "interstitial radiation".  When searching,
be sure to include at least the term "brachytherapy" in your search.

There is extensive information about brachytherapy at:

http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/cabrasi.htm

Good luck.

   Alan

Dan, You might check out the following website for more information on
brachytherapy. It is easy to understand.

www.texascancerclinic.com

-gd

I'm sure Bev will jump in here shortly.  As far as books, I think radiated
patients like A Primer on Prostate Cancer by Strumm.  As far as websites,
www.Phoenix5.org is very good.

Did 8 months of Lupron, 25 IMRT sessions, and 97 Palladium-103 seeds
at Inova in Alexandria VA.  Have clocked two PSA's of < 0.1

Type "seedpods" and "prostate" into google.

Also see "The Prostate Cancer Treatment Book" by Grimm, Blasko, and
Sylvester.  Subtitle, "The most up-to-date information available on
seed implant therapy."

I can't be more pleased with the PSA's.  Also the side effects from
the rad have been insignificant.

No incontenance, no problems going or stopping. Although I could
tell that something was happening in that area, the medication
(Decadron for a week, Flomax for 6 months, and Aleve) handled any
problems.

Holdin' it - At first I was pee'ing every hour or two.  Really
urgent.  Each month, I added an hour and now I'm almost back to
normal, which is, I can drink 20 ounce of water, go to bed, and
sleep through the night.

There is "stinging" when pee'ing.  It doesn't feel bad.  It's there.
I can't describe it.

ED?  The Lupron slammed me but things have been stirring in the last
month.  Had several partials, managed a couple nearly full erections
without using Vitamin-V.  Fluid production is way off though.  

Bowel issues?  Nada.  They put me on a low bulk diet for a month
and a take-it-easy diet for another two months.  They said take a
couple Colace to keep things, ah, moving. I did and was fine.  

Stamina - I was TIRED for several months.   I had to cut out coffee
(it's a bladder irritant) and cutting back from 6-10 cups to zero
might have some bearing on this.

I had several side effects that I attribute to the Lupron.  Hot
flashes, some geezing, joint pain,

===

I walked out of Inova a couple hours after the seeding procedure.
I could have gone to work the next day but I took 4 days off as I
had already requested the leave.  

But the important thing is the PSA, undetectable.  That's what
matters.

Dan,
I'm in the same process.  Here's a few links in no particular order.  I'll
send you several PDFs privately.
http://www.brachyjournal.com/home
http://www.prostatepointers.org/seedpods/seeddocs.html
http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/cabrasi.htm
http://www.rcog.com
http://www.cure-prostate-cancer.org/prostate-cancer-treatment/brachytherapy.html
http://www.brachytherapy.com/prost-brachy.html

Best of luck,
Chuck