7 weeks down and some weird stuff

Today was the end of my 7th week of SRT. Next Friday, it’s over and out. Haven’t decided whether I want to ring the bell.
Really really really....no significant side effects. No diarrhea no urinary frequency, maybe just once in a while I go from not having to go, to gotta go NOW or else, in 5 minutes, but very seldom.

Two things I just can’t figure out...
about 3 weeks after I started radiation, I noticed that the underside of ONE forearm, WAS COMPLETELY HAIRLESS. Like totally bald. I’m a pretty hairy guy, and this was a large defined area. I showed it to the Dr he said it’s probably the hormone therapy, and I should expect that I will lose more body hair. That was a month ago, and it remains hairless, but I have not lost any other body hair at all. The nurse practitioner noticed it the following week and commented that she never saw that before and was puzzled.
I thought today, maybe it’s my arm getting in the way if the radiation, and I asked the technician. He said no way, and showed me exactly how and where the radiation comes down. Pinpoint, quite amazing,

Anyway, anyone ever have something like this?

The other thing is, since my surgery almost 4 years ago, I often pee like a race horse. But sometimes the stream is not that strong. Since about 2 weeks after I started radiation, i pee like a racehorse every time.

These should be my biggest problems, during SRT, be;I’ve me, I’m not complaining. I’ve been very lucky so far.

One more week. When I’m done, I’m going to sleep flare every day for 10 days. Then go to Florida and forget about this crap till my PSA in April (May wait till May, I’m gonna be a grampa in April for the first time)

Sorry for the rambling, I do that sometimes, just curious if anyone else has these experiences

The rambling yes, and I haven’t even started the ADT yet.

Prato, I missed this whole chapter Of Your story - didn’t know you were already 7 weeks in and also had the HT. That’s pretty awesome. You are approaching the finish line ! Time to celebrate soon.

Sounds like it opened things up a bit. (my concern was it doing the opposite)

Congrats on "gettinerdone" Prato!

And....congrats on your becoming a Grandpa.

Winter in FL. You deserve it buddy.

The hair loss thing is typical for ADT, but why just one spot is weird. Most of my body hair became very fine after a few months of HT, but later into the RT my entire belly became bald... not even peach fuzz. And after RT I lost the race horse stream. It's almost like it was before the prostatectomy again.

Congrats on your grandfatherdom. Hope you enjoy Florida!

Thanks for the comments. Regarding the one bald spot on my arm, I guess I’m just weird (I’m sure no arguments on that)

Go Bucks, I don’t know if I’m ready for Gramps. But I’ve got 5-6 months to decide. Maybe after a full 6 months on ADT (3 more months) I’ll be ready. But for now, I’m thinking I’ll be Pops.

My grandtoddler decided that I'm "Pop Pop". It's kind of cute. He's kind of cute. As some have said, if I'd have known how fun a grandchild could be, I'd have had him first! They've also been described sometimes as turldlers, since they're only beginning to learn how to interact with people and the world around them.

ADT caused some body hair pattern changes for me. Not a patch like you're describing, but overall much finer, thinner, some quit showing up altogether.

Radiation caused more enduring changes, but limited to the exposure area. The skin most exposed to radiation lost the hair and it's never grown back. I've heard that skin exposed to more than something like 50 Gy may lose hair growth permanently. Other than that, most has grown back normal.

The treatments for this crap are just bizarre. That's why we need support groups like this forum. Who else could you possibly talk to about such things, and where else find others dealing with the same!?

Andrew.....
Your almost to the finish line....
And CONGRATULATIONS on the Grand Baby, Your world is about to change for the better for sure....
My Staysa just turned 4, She calls me PaPa....

And I'm just over just East over the hill from you in the Valley.

Redwing57 said...
As some have said, if I'd have known how fun a grandchild could be, I'd have had him first!

Jerry, thanks, this made me literally laugh out loud 😂

[quote=Tedwing57] The treatments for this crap are just bizarre. That's why we need support groups like this forum. Who else could you possibly talk to about such things, and where else find others dealing with the same!?

Spoken for truth on both counts. Thank goodness for this place, and yeah, the treatments, and the disease itself, are bizarre.

Post Edited (Pratoman) : 11/10/2018 9:23:11 AM (GMT-7)

Hey Ken,
Tulane Cancer Center didn't have a bell to ring. They just gave me certificate of completion thing. I lost virtually all of the hair on my back due to the Eligard, which wasn't such a bad thing. It's been more than 2 years since the treatments and it's all back, now that my testosterone is back over 400 now.

RobLee said...
And after RT I lost the race horse stream. It's almost like it was before the prostatectomy again.

Since I ended my RT my stream is significantly less. I had my followup with the RO today and he said I probably have some scar tissue so now it's back to the urologist. I've lost hair as well but it's all over. During my last 14 treatments I had something unusual happen. I got a bad rash on my arms and legs. They both swelled up big and lasted a couple weeks. The techs were freaked out and kept saying I had herpes, they were kidding. I blamed the radiation. It turns out it was a severe allergic reaction to a bug bite. I'm still waiting for the super powers to show up. I probably told this story already.
There's nothing much better than being a grandpa. I have 2 granddaughters who call me papi. They make me feel young again, at least for a while, then it's time to go home (insert smiley face here)

CaptainG, I think I’ve decided to ring the bell. My wife wants to come with me that day, so I’ll do it.
I don’t think I’ll get a big crowd. My treatment is at 7:20am each day, and when I walk out the guys I know are all gone, or in the treatment room, and it’s not that croweded. But I don’t need a crowd or a celebration. I just need an undetectable PSA.

3 more treatments. Can’t wait. I said goodbye to my main technician today, she is off the next 3 days. I wanted to hug her, she was great. But I figured it wouldn’t be cool since I was wearing a gown lol. So I shook her hand . Seemed so sterile. She was really terrific. The other two were as well. Very professional people at MSKCC

Prato - Ring the bell. You and your wife will cherish the memory.

My CyberKnife clinic doesn't "do" bells. I just got a hug from my RO - which was just as good.