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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / January 20042nd HDR tomorrow
I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, I know pretty much what to expect. After that, I'll have four more EBRT's, and then I'm done. As one of my doctor's other patients characterized it, I've got four zips and a zap to go. Unfortunately, there is a forecast for 1-3 inches of snow in the Baltimore area tonight. I hope I don't have to first shovel out my 200 foot long uphill driveway to get to the hospital. If I do, they may not need to knock me out for the procedure, I'll be half way there already. I wish I could get the taste of magnesium citrate out of my mouth. I wonder if the prep for all this is really needed or if it's just to psychologically prepare us for being stripped, poked, prodded, gassed, cut, invaded, zapped, and told how well everything came out. But I'm not complaining. I'm really very appreciative of the doctors, nurses and technicians that are saving my life, and the many brilliant scientists who have gained the knowledge that makes their work possible. I'll let you all know when it's over. Regards to all. Alan Good luck tomorrow. I recomment going to the far end and shovel down hill. Me? I'm spending my first winter in a condo, singing, "Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww."  SignatureProstate Cancer Survivor (so far), not a doctor PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48 HTbegins 07/21/2003 @ 48 PSA .1 Lupron 7/03, 8/03, 12/03 > I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second > HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan Hi Alan, Wish you the best tomorrow and hope the weather's not too bad, I heard the same forecast for that area. We have some family members in Wicomico, Howard and Carroll Counties, with some here in NJ now to visit my wife following her breast surgery this Monday. Looks like I'll have to go out for more bread and milk before the "big storm" to keep everyone happy, they predict 3-6 here. I got my 2nd Lupron shot today, with no ill effects to report other than a reduced or non-existent libido. Again, we wish you the best and our prayers are with you. Tom > Good luck tomorrow. I recomment going to the far end and shovel down hill. > Me? I'm spending my first winter in a condo, singing, "Let it snow. Let it [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > > > Alan Yep , you and Leonard - enjoying condo living. But I've got this friend in Canada and she really needs some help with her driveway. So if you feel the need to get out there and play in the snow............! Bev > Good luck tomorrow. I recomment going to the far end and shovel down hill. > Me? I'm spending my first winter in a condo, singing, "Let it snow. Let it [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > > > Alan Actually, I am going to miss shoveling snow. Even with castration level testosterone, I considered it a man against the elements thing. How much snow could I plow through before dying of a heart attack? No heart attacks! That makes me undefeated. Arrrgghhh Arrggghh SignatureProstate Cancer Survivor (so far), not a doctor PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48 HTbegins 07/21/2003 @ 48 PSA .1 Lupron 7/03, 8/03, 12/03 > Yep , you and Leonard - enjoying condo living. > But I've got this friend in Canada and she really needs some help with her [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > > > > > Alan Steve, Some have criticized you for your humor, I for one appreciate it. In the short time that I've been reading in this group, I've been favorably impressed with the information sharing between members, a lot of what I've read and learned in the past month has been extremely helpful to me in asking my doctors meaningful questions. I, like many others, had a rude awakening (or was it dumbfounding?) when I heard the word "cancer". The folks here helped me bring things back into perspective, and yes the humor is welcome. > Good luck tomorrow. I recomment going to the far end and shovel down hill. > Me? I'm spending my first winter in a condo, singing, "Let it snow. Let it [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > > > Alan Thanks, Tom. As I've said before, I can hardly help making the attempt. It caused checkmarks for "does not exercise self-control" on my report cards for the entire 8 years of elementary school. And that was when there were 4 quarters in a school year! Pops bothered me greatly for days. But, you all have helped me work out the notion that he probably just wasn't ready to enter the fray. Maybe he was older than his 73 chronological years. Maybe he is just a bitter man who was looking for an excuse to dwell on his own problems. Maybe he gives lip-service to his beliefs. I don't know, and will apparently never know. In any case, I feel sorry for him. I think he needs us, locked the door, left the keys inside, and is afraid to ask the Great Locksmith for a service call. SignatureProstate Cancer Survivor (so far), not a doctor PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48 HTbegins 07/21/2003 @ 48 PSA .1 Lupron 7/03, 8/03, 12/03 > Steve, > [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > > > > > Alan Alan, I heard great things about HDR. Good luck to you, relax and enjoy the ride! Fernando > I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second > HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan Alan, good luck! HDR brachy is a big zap. Ummmmmm, I heard you are in for something that looks more like 6 inches of snow. I had to put the "of snow" in there. LOL Hoping this kills everyone of those cancer cells!! And the last few zips are just icing on the cake. Bev > I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second > HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan Hi Pussy Cat..... The second one is a piece of cake.....you already know what to expect and it is a lot easier!! And that is from my better half.......who had them one week apart!! We both wish you the best.....and have to razz you if you think 3 inches of snow is a storm......come on up to where we are... north of Toronto......today the windchill temp was minus 36C......which is about equal to your Fahrenheit. I was out in it and it was 'brisk'. Had to do up my coat, grin. Seriously though.....you have no worries....just tomorrow and 4 more zips and then you should take a holiday like we did. We were tired of doctors and hospitals and a week in Quebec City was wonderful!! XX Heather > I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second > HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan For those who have never lived in the greater Baltimore-Washington area, 3 inches will totally mess up traffic for the better part of the day. Just the mention of snow causes panic and traffic accidents. The (other) idiots just don't know how to handle it. DanR Your procedure is different to how my radiologist is doing it. He gives one treatment done the day you check in, you stay in the hospital overnight and then have two done the next day. The template is sewn to your skin so that it stays in place for the subsequent treatments. > I'll be up at 3:30 am tomorrow to go in for my second > HDR brachytherapy. Having been through one already, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan I hadn't heard of that technique. My doctor said she always schedules at least two weeks between HDRs to give some healing time between them. Heather reported that her doc in Canada scheduled them one week apart. The differences may be due to different doctor's opinions on the right amount of time to leave between procedures, or might also be due to different opinions on the dosage to give in each procedure. I've read on the net about doses ranging from 5.5 to 15 Grays in one session. My doctor gave 10.5 Grays at each session, believing that more risked more side effects. Your doctor may possibly be doing 5.5 or some other amount at each session - doing less radiation damage and not needing the healing time. Who knows. There's a lot of experimentation in all this. The science just isn't fully developed yet. Incidentally, as near as I can tell from one brief abstract I read on PubMed, one Gray of HDR brachytherapy seems to be worth between 2.5 and 3 Grays of external beam. So my total dose of 46 Grays EBRT + 21 Grays HDR may be the equivalent of 100 or so Grays of external beam. Apparently that's the big value of HDR. Alan > Your procedure is different to how my radiologist is doing it. He gives > one treatment done the day you check in, you stay in the hospital [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > > > Alan Hi Alan..... Yes......up here, you have two treatments 7 days apart. And part of the reason is the lack of beds .. the other is that it really was an outpatient treatment, even though we were there from 7 am to 3 pm. I drove Ron home, which takes an hour or more. Other than his reaction to the Flomax and being a bit shocky after the first one, he didn't need hospitalization. He could have gone to the Cancer Lodge for a day or two, for a nominal sum ($10? a day or less)......but he didn't want any part of that. They really do look after you well up here. The Cancer Lodge is run by the two main Cancer Hospitals.......Sunnybrook (where we were) and Princess Margaret. Full meals, transportation to and from the hospital, medical staff there, counsellors and so on. And of course, the Cancer Society would pitch in with driving him back and forth and so on. But we are independent cusses!! I will have to check my notes, but Dr. Loblaw told us what the combination of HDR plus EBRT equalled and it was impressive. As he said, the human body could not tolerate that amount done externally. Just realized.....Ron's next PSA is Feb. 5th I believe. Should prove interesting.....and no, we are not the least bit worried. It is 'onwards and upwards' in this house, grin!! Btw.....how did you fare with the Flomax this time? Ron can never take it again. Plays havoc with his blood pressure and heartbeat. (damned vaso-vagus nerve problem). We are now planning a trip to Scotland (my ancestral country, grin) and England in June. Ron's idea.......and yes, he did get a wake up call!! I suppose we shouldn't be spending the money, but hell.....one of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow, so go for it!! The first stay is with a friend who is a paramedic....so Bob is there if needed, grin. He is the one who explained the vaso-vagus problem to me and how to cope with it. Not hard really. Besides.....he is as crazy as I am......so we will have an absolute blast!! All the best......Ron and Heather > I hadn't heard of that technique. My doctor said she always > schedules at least two weeks between HDRs to give some [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > overnight and then have two done the next day. The template is sewn to > > your skin so that it stays in place for the subsequent treatments. Hello Heather, Sorry I didn't see this post until just now. I had some bad urinary retention problems after the second HDR. It really feels pretty awful to have a full bladder and a tremendous urge to pee, but be totally unable to squeeze anything out. A couple of times I felt like I was going to bust my bladder trying. So I tried Flowmax again. I started taking one a night and managed it okay. After five or six days I escalated to two a night - the standard dose. I'm doing okay with it. No real dizzy spells. No fainting. It may be that the combination of anaesthesia drugs plus Flowmax knocked me out, or just that I had to get used to it gradually. But I'm doing okay with it now. The problem has not been solved by Flowmax, but it's improved. Alan > Hi Alan..... > [quoted text clipped - 75 lines] > to > > > your skin so that it stays in place for the subsequent treatments. |
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