Hi Guys,
   I am a new member as of today. I was diagnosed with PC Sept: PSA
4.0, Gleason 3+4=7, Stage T1c (not palpable). PSA doubling rate is
about 2 yrs. Like most of you, I have spent the past months getting
smarter on this.  I have made my decision (combined IMRT and Seeds)
and am comfortable with it.
   My main reason for this post is that I think most of us who have
made our decision tend to abandon those of you who are just starting
the agonizing decision on treatment.  (Reading a post this day from a
'newby' prompted me to join up and share what I now know.) I have the
postings of others for months and now feel an obligation to all the
other men who went to the trouble to educate me.  Similarly, I
challenge those of you are a good way down the decision and/or
treatment track to let other know what you decided and how you decided
it.
   For the benefit of the newly diagnosed, I was torn for a month as
to which way to go and had surgury scheduled once.  Despite this, I
continued to push the system for answers and finally heard from some
world-class radiation oncologists (Dr. Dattoli of the Dattoli Cancer
Institute, Dr. Peter Grimm from the Seattle Prostate Institute, Dr.
Charles Myers, and Dr. Daniel Katin of 21st Century Oncology) urging
me to consider other options.  After having done so, I selected a
combined radiation therapy protocol that started with IMRT and will be
complemented in a few weeks with Seeds (Pu-103).
   In addition, Dr. Myers has convince me that there are a number of
alternative approaches that have been proven to help prevent and
probably can help cure prostate cancer.  They include nutritional
supplements of: Selenium, Vit-E, Vit-C, and cooked tomatoes
(Lycopene).  (However, all of my physicians do not want me to continue
the above supplements until after my radiation treatments are done.
Not sure why and I hope some of you better educated members will offer
comments on that.)
  I complete IMRT next week here in Sarasota, Fla and it has been a
relative breeze.  Complications include: some urethral inflammation
and difficulty in peeing from time to time, some bowel irritation but
nothing to write home about, a feeling of incomplete ejaculation
although that might be in my head, and, increasingly, a feeling of
tiredness.  Naps help a lot.
Jack