Brachytherapy showtime

I'm going in Tuesday for brachytherapy procedure at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Last week was prep time with the anesthesiologist. A visit to Toronto Western Hospital to be blood tested, heart tested, listened to through instruments, and told three times to tilt my head back and open my mouth. Plus a run through the entertaining "have you ever had" questionnaire. When it was all over I briefly met the doctor himself who, pleasingly, said: "I'm used to meeting with patients who are sicker than you". I was warned that the tube to be put down my throat could cause damage to my front teeth. And, otherwise, that I was going to be aware of having a tube put into my arm; a mask over my mouth; and that I'd be missing the rest of the procedure. Which suits me just fine.

Also started in on "flomax". It made me dizzy the first day, and otherwise I don't seem to have any side-effects at all.

Today is day one of prep time for the main event. I.e. nothing to eat -- only liquids you can see through. In the morning I chose to interpret coffee as possible to look through, and am living on apple juice and chicken broth otherwise. Tomorrow it will be time for the fun purgative. Tuesday is showtime.

I'm feeling optimistic about things. Friends keep me positive by telling me stories about people they know who are doing well. I like stories like that, on this forum and in conversation. I've booked off work for the whole week and hopefully will be back in the saddle eight days from today.

Your front teeth should be fine! If you are like me, the breathing tube they stick down your throat will raise Cain with your vocal cords, I STILL have a little laryngitis..

Brian, you will do just fine. I had my brachytherapy on May 26th this year and drove from the Chicago area back home to Colorado just a day and a half after the procedure with zero problems. Only tiny discomfort was feeling like sitting on a sponge golf ball..... Left the facility without catheter and have experienced NO problems since the seed planting. I do take Flomax 1/2 hour after the evening meals and have yet to experience being dizzy. No trouble peeing and no ED. Just recently had my three month PSA check which turned out to be 0.12
For me, the brachy was THE way to go. Good luck and be sure to get back here soon to pass along the results of your seed implants.

Brian -- i also had BT in May.  i had side effects immediately -- urgency, frequency etc.  -- but they went away after a couple of days and then returned around day 10 like the doc said.  i had other side effects too (the worst of my treatment) but i was/am on lupron and i started flomax right before BT. 

six weeks after BT i began 28 doses of IGRT.  at that point i was still having frequency issues but it had gotten better.  i go for my one-month follow-up from IGRT tomorrow. the last  few nights i've only had to get up to pee once or twice and that's rare for me even pre-cancer.

the only "pain" from BT was the catheter i went home with but it was removed painlessly the next morning. i took aleve twice a day per my doctor and flomax twice a day.  good luck.  you'll do fine .

ed

Good luck with your procedure.  I still wish that I could have had BT.  I have two close friends that had BT the same time as my surgery.  One had some significant urinary and bowel problems during the first year and the other had no problems at all.  They both claim to have no erectile problems, though I know that guys tend to lie about that.  Maybe even some on this forum

BT was my first choice and I still think that I should have gone that path.  However three urologists insisted that my Gleason 8 cancer needed to be removed with surgery. My friends both had Gleason 6 diagnosis.  I now have complete erectile failure.  I am only able to have erectile success with bimix injections.

We are all three approaching four years post treatment with no reoccurence.  That is the good thing.

Hope all goes well! I think everyone can identify with the waiting room scenario,sometimes that's the worst part!!

...which wasn't a great idea. Two-thirds of the way through the cup of tea, I had to run to the bathroom and was violently ill. The nurse was not too concerned -- that happens sometimes after anaesthetics.

Doctor was consulted. Conclusion was that I would spend the night with a catheter and hopefully the prostate would relax.

But that was not to be. A scan revealed that, mysteriously, there was less than 100cc in my bladder even though I had been drinking gallons (litres?) of water. Another nurse came in to redo the test - same result. So conclusion was that an old-fashioned remedy would be tried. They decided to let me sleep and see what happened.

At about three in the morning I woke up and, seemingly magically, everything had sorted itself out. Perhaps the anti-inflammatory had done its work. Perhaps five minutes of throwing up had shaken things loose. The nurses were very pleased. Commented that about one in three brachytherapy patients in their experience have to spend the night to be sure everything is working, and that things almost always resolve with some walking around and some time.

700cc of mysteriously-hidden urine into the bottle in four stages over the course of the night. I think maybe their scanner was defective, which worked out well for me since it saved me from a night on a catheter.

At 800 am a smiling nurse took my vitals -- all well -- checked with the front desk and said "you can go home".

I've now home and caught up on my sleep.

If all of this is as bad as its going to get, then this is going to be just fine. I feel fine -- just a tiny bit sore sitting on this hard chair, but perfectly normal lying down or in a softer spot. Tolerating the medicine just fine. Feel normal. Everything is working.

What's next? A month from now an intensive day for MRI and other tests to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be. Three months from now the first PSA test and hopefully (give or take the scripted "bounce") the first of a series of declining numbers.

I respect the therapy choices made by everyone on this board. I learned a great deal here, and made my final decision to try brachytherapy in good part after reading the stories about experience with that therapy that I read here. So here's one more voice saying that -- so far, fingers crossed -- this therapy is worth considering in the right circumstances.

Many thanks again for the encouraging notes above. All the best bt

My wife said i was pretty funny coming out of anesthesia but I apparently didn't say anything too outrageous for which I am grateful. I did start the flomax a week ago. I think there was just a bit of swelling that resolved over the course of the night.

very keen to hear any advice. i asked one of the nurses about taking a higher dose of flomax (the written materials i was given talk about going to two pills a day). she said that was not a great idea because it might lead to low blood pressure. have you been told this?

Brian, I have seen a number of posts of this forum re Flomax and some lightheadedness so I would be careful with upping the dosage...hopefully you will not need it...I didn't.  But, I did need to take it for 3 months.  I had some urgency and frequency but not too bad.  I also avoided alcohol, caffeine and spicy foods.  The once or twice I had my Diet Cokes for a pick-up it made me go like crazy so I went back to avoiding that stuff and all was well.

Tudpock (Jim)

Brian,

I started with one flowmax, went to 2 during my IGRT treatments (which you are not doing) on the advice of my Radiologist, and went back to one after those were completed. My blood pressure is somewhat low but I was taking medication for BP anyway....hard to figure that one for me. I have asked my uro if I can stop the flomax and he says "give it a try" whenever I am ready. He did tell me that some of his patients who stop become symptomatic again. I am going to continue to take 1/day for a couple of more months, stop, and see what happens.

Cipro was another story altogether. It was prescribed for me for a flu-like infection that was unrelated (I think) to my PC. I had a terrible reaction to it and will never take one again. It may have no adverse effect for you at all....I sincerely hope so.

One thing the Uro/Rad team that did my BT did not tell me was to expect some major brusing of the scrotum. I was pretty "black and blue" for about 10 days. No pain....just a lot of discoloration. It sure looked like it should have been sore...but it never was.

There are several of us here that admit to being biased toward BT if it is a viable option based on your "numbers/pathology". You are finding out right now why. Glad you are doing well.....regards,

Joe

Brian/Joe...you guys must have bigger b*lls than I do since mine weren't bruised at all...

Tudpock (Jim)

brian, good luck on your recovery from your seeding. glad you got that urinary retention issue worked out

david in sc