4 days RT 34 to go

bemis, you should have been fully instructed before you began the radiation, as to have a full bladder or not, some methods require this, some don't. usually, you are given written instructions to these matters before you begin.

i hope you do better with the rest of yours, radiation is all about an endurance contest. some people breeze right through it, and others have a rough time.

from looking at your stats, being that you were stage 3 after surgery, with positive margins and the extra. ext., your doctor was expecting recurrance quickly, the fact that your post surgery psa was already at .10, that would be a pretty good indication that recurrance was expected, and that there was no reason to wait and watch the PSA grow and grow over the months ahead.

be sure to let your radiation operators and doctor know exactly how you are feeling, if you have any negative reports, let them know, thats real important.

good luck, and please keep us posted of your progress.

david in sc

In hind sight, I still wonder if my radiation oncologist erred with me. Trust me, not smart enough to be a doctor, nor pretending to be one. When I first learned of the SRT via IMRT, I was told that you had to have a full bladder each time prior to being zapped. Due to my complications of strictures, and having the SP catheter inserted just prior to the start of my treatments, there was nothing in my bladder at any time, obviously draining straight from the SP into the leg bag when I went to treatments.

I remember reporting burning sensations immediately as you probably all remember, and I often wondered if I was getting a microwave effect with the cath tube itself, or any liguid or moisture in it as I was being zapped.

They claimed they weren't targeting the bladder at all, but its interesting how my uro/surgeon has remarked about how damaged the interior of my bladder appears since radiation. I may never know the answer to this, and guess it doesnt matter, because this is one egg that can't be unscrambled. Just gets me to thinking.

David in SC

While John did not have to go through SRT, as many of you already know we did meet with a rad onc "just in case". Her instructions to us were: full bladder before each treatment (2 to 3 glasses of liquid) and daily bowel movement before each treatment (use a laxative if necessary). The full bladder would keep the bowel out of the radiation field, and the empty bowel would ensure that the bladder would not be pushed further into the radiation field. She indicated that this is standard procedure with pelvic radiation.

To minimize bowel issues during treatment, she suggested limiting fruits and veges to not more than 3 servings each day and recommended a high fiber diet (without the greens) to keep the bowels moving and prevent diarhea.

Well I just got home and I feel fine I took your sugjestion on 1 liter and it seems the right amt.Its hard to believe haveing just a bit of your bowel zaped can have such an effect.At 1 liter though when the tech gives me a hand to get off the table I do give quite a squirt so I wore a big pad to help.I can now realize a little better what my son went through when he had brain and complete spine done in 2001 it cooked his head, mouth ,esophigus,stomach intestines and everythingn on down and only one complaint which was after RT was over and we went to some good restaurants in the Keys and food still tasted bad.Kyle had PNET then GBM and went thru the most brutal treatments known to man for 1 1/2 years at WVU Childrens Hospital and 1 1/2 years at Duke.Our family had a positive attitude thruout the whole experience and lived our lives around months in the hospital and away from each other.After thinking about my son beiing terminal every day for 3 years I've sort of become brain dead to the thought of death and accept it as part of life.I'm not woried about the future but do worry about my wife and daughter, and hope my dad dosen't outlive his son [for his sake]. Thanks for the chance to ramble on as I like thinking about my son. DICK