New Member

Welcome to our corner of the world. Sorry you need to be here but it is a good place to be.

It's not uncommon for a biopsy to miss. Gleason 6 is a very treatable cancer glad to hear you got the Brachy done. A PSA after 2 months might be a bit soon. Radiation takes awhile to bring the PSA down. What you hope for is "lower" and future PSAs that trend down.

Keep us updated on your progress. I expect you'll be doing just fine.

All the best,
Andrew

Hi Maars and welcome to our place. Regarding HDR, there's a number of folks out here that went through HDR and will hopefully chime in soon, including:
JNF
Michael T
syzygy51
MauiViv (Hubby had HDR)

HDR is a great option and has some great results so I'm sure you'll do fine.

Best wishes to you brother as you continue down the path.

Oooops! Michael T correctly pointed out that I thought you had HDR, when you had LDR - so I decided to edit this post to avoid confusion. Sorry!

Maars, I am new to this forum as well, and these guys and gals all seem to be top shelf! We have similiar numbers and I'm still exploring my options (no treatment yet). Best of luck to you!

Mike

Hey Maars, welcome.
Seems like there is more and more of us 40's guys around. You've found a good place to hang out, learn, ask questions. Even vent when needed.
I'm sure more knowledgeable people will jump in.
All the best with recovery.

Hi Maars and welcome to our corner of the world. I hope your recovery from your brachytherapy goes well and you have low PSA scores in your future. I think A Yooper may have mis-read your post since it seems like you had LDR (not HDR) brachy. There's an even greater pool of LDR folks on this forum, as well A Yooper himself. He's doing quite well, by the way, as you can see on his signature. I'm sure he'll also chime in with some more specific comments.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Michael

Hi Maars,
I put the following together for men in my support group and have shared it with a few ROs in the hope that they will distribute it to patients. For seeds, there may also be the sensation, at the beginning, of "peeing glass." There are medications that may help with all those symptoms if they are bothersome (e.g., Aleve + Rapaflo for urinary, Canasa for rectal).

What to expect after prostate radiation

Urinary, rectal and sexual side effects of treatment are usually mild and transient, although they may be worse if you are especially sensitive to radiation, are an older man, or had symptoms before you started radiation therapy. Some side effects described below may occur in many men starting anytime from a week to a month after treatment and continuing for weeks or months. The duration and intensity vary greatly between men.

If any of those symptoms interfere with your day-to-day living, call your doctor. He may be able to prescribe medication that can help alleviate those symptoms.


Urinary

Total incontinence is uncommon. There may be some leakage or dribbling. Other common side effects are irritation, burning or bleeding while urinating, feeling like you have to urinate immediately even when you know your bladder isn’t full, having to wake up several times during the night to urinate, or having to urinate frequently during the day. You may pass small amounts of blood or blood clots; however, if you are bleeding copiously when you urinate, contact your doctor immediately.

A rare but potentially serious side effect is urinary retention. If you find that you can’t urinate even though your bladder feels full, go to the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital immediately and tell them you are suffering from urinary retention. They must catheterize you to allow the urine to flow out.


Rectal

There may be a feeling like you have to pass a stool but you cannot, and this feeling may recur often. This is called tenesmus. You should be aware that that feeling is from inflammation in your rectum (proctitis), not from actual stool there, and if you strain, you may create hemorrhoids. You may have frequent bowel movements. There may be blood in your stools or blood may drip out. Hemorrhoids may occur. Sometimes stool may leak out, especially when you are passing gas. Stool may be loose, or it may be especially hard.

If you have diarrhea for more than a few days, call your doctor. If the bleeding is copious, call your doctor.


Sexual

Semen will dry up soon after treatment, although there may be small amounts of fluid. Occasionally, you may see some blood in that fluid or a few drops of blood may drip out after orgasm.

You may notice that, over time, erections are not as hard or as long-lasting. To protect the blood vessels supplying your penis with blood, your doctor may have prescribed Viagra or a similar medication. You should continue to take that medication for at least 6 months after the end of treatment, even though it seems like you don’t need it.

Testosterone levels often drop following radiation, but may eventually return to normal levels. Because of this, you may notice a drop in the level of your sexual desire/libido. Some men experience difficulty reaching orgasm.

If any of the symptoms are bothersome, you may want to consult with a doctor who specializes in Sexual Medicine.

Hi all,

Thanks very much for the encouragement, support and advice. Only symptoms so far is the burning urine and bowl. I know it will get worse over the next month as the radiation reaches full strength. 

Strongs to all of you as well !

Maars

 

Hi all,

Got my PSA results today - first test done since the brachy therapy. Score is 2.9, which is quite lower than before the therapy.

What should the PSA result be after brachy ? Must it be zero or like in my case now at "an acceptable" level according to my Uro ?

Maars

Things will be a little uncomfortable for a few weeks, and will then start to rapidly improve. You will be very happy with the choice that you've made. PC is little more than a memory for me at this point.

Hi Maars, good to hear from you again. Yes, typically the goal for the first PSA read post LDR BT is to have it drop in half - which you got so congrats!

I'm now 9 months post implants and feel absolutely great, no SE's what so ever!

Continued best to you!!!!!

Welcome ......

  And so sorry that you have to be here - especially at such an early age. I am a very recent member and am dealing with PCa for the second time around. My first diagnosis was in 2003 ... and I did go thru the typical for its time - external radiation treatments of 5-days per week x 5-weeks.

  Shortly after that, I did receive a brachytherapy of 96-seeds at the Chicago Prostate Cancer Center. Bear in mind, that was over 9-years ago. I have no idea of whether or not there was both HDR and LDR possible - or any further designation of my type of brachytherapy.

  The short-term SE's were very similar to what I have just read here - as were the long-term SE's. The blood in the semen was the most alarming at the time - but that did not last long. None of the other side-effects were such that they were burned into my memory.

  I did have low PSA readings and relative peace of mind after the two procedures - for about 6-years. I was 60-years old when originally diagnosed. I trust that todays procedures are, if anything, greatly improved over those of 10-years ago.  

Good luck to you ........

Hang in there and wait for the test results. This could be a lot of things and not necessarily something really bad. I know it's easy for me to say, but stop by here often. I'm sure some guys might have some experience with what you're going through.