My SBRT treatment

Spent 5 days and 4 nights in Seattle to do SBRT at Swedish Medical Center Radiosurgery with Dr. Meier. The treatments went very well indeed. As I had to travel a long distance home after the last treatment they scheduled me early in the day ( 0730 ) which was very nice. That allowed me to get back home before dark on friday the 22nd. As I was travelling over 3 mountain passes in heavy snow daylight is very helpful.

There were no issues at all during the actual treatment other than a bit of pain in several arthritic joints from position and not moving. Had some problems with urination beginning the second night. Extreme pain in the penis and just dripped instead of flowed. This was resolved the next day after talking with the nurse and getting a script for flowmax. Used Aleve for the pain which works really well. I must say though that I feel they should just give you several flowmax caps and Aleve when you start the treatment so that you can have them on hand and not have to wait until you get in to see a nurse the next day.

I received 3625 cGY in 5 fractions.

I am very happy with the treatment and feel that I made the best of all possible choices. Now I will just get in the waiting line to see how well it works.

May all beings be well.

Roger

Hey Larry: I feel that all of the treatments are at best a "crap shoot". All we can do is research, evaluate and then choose that which we feel in our heart is the best for us. As you say, going in SBRT might have looked good for you but after RP and with that Path report probably not. That is the rub though isn't it. Had your path report come back better than going in and you were dealing with major SE's then you might have been second guessing your choice. Who can know??? So.............again I feel the best anyone can do as far as choosing a treatment and then being good with that choice no matter the outcome, is to do the research and evaluation and this includes REALLY listening to one's self about what is important in life.

I hope all continues to go your way.

Down to minus 6 last night. I have gone through almost 2 cord for the house so far this season and a little over a cord for the hot tub. I still have in excess of 14 cord cut, split, stacked and under cover so I think I will make it.

Roger

TA get any of the "COLD" Larry and I sent your way?

Hey Roger..... Congrats on completing the treatments. And it sounds like but for a minor blip that all went well. That's great. You did a great job of researching and determining what you thought would best accomplish your goal. Can't ask for more.
Minus 6?????? As in below "0" temperatures????? Most of last week we were in the 70's to low 80's and will spend a week starting this coming Friday in Orlando to celebrate the new year. As I sit in the hot tub or laze around with my margarita in the heated pool, I will think back on the 2017 new year. As soon as we returned home from celebrating the new year in 2017, I got the news that I would be joining this group of folks. And you know what, while I would not wish this disease on anyone, there are lots worse things and there is a silver lining to my year. I've met many fine people here and developed a much greater appreciation for the gift of life. Roger, I wish you continued success and declining PSA's.

19tarpon47: Skypilot and I both get some really cold temps in the winter. He a little colder than me though. The record since I have lived here is minus 27F, yes that would be something like 100 degrees below what you are experiencing in your so called winter. Heated pool and hot tub with ambient temps in the 70's-80's? When we get those "summer" temps around here everyone heads up in the high mountains for swimming in the spring fed lakes.

Larry you are spot on about the dirty aspect of wood burning and also correct about the "feel" of true heat.
I also have a wood fired sauna in a small freestanding building and I have a Japanese style cedar soaking tub that is fired by a submersed wood stove. It is inside a small room I built on the end of my house. There are two picture windows looking out over a 20 mile view of the mountains and valleys. I live on a mountainside at 3100 feet in elevation with the surrounding lowlands at 2500 ft. so I get some really good views and spectacular sunsets.

On this Christmas day.........May all beings be well and always free from animosity.

Roger

Recorded record low for Republic,Wa. ( 7 miles from me ) is minus 42F

Don't know what I'm enjoying more, the comments about SBRT or the stories of extreme cold and mountain vistas!

Like Paxton, I'm a Chicagoan and remember the coldest day he highlighted. We both might have been here for the Blizzard of '67. Now that was a snow storm!

SBRT sounds like a real alternative for patients. I wasn't active here until right before my surgery. Who knows what I might have decided had I known more about that type of radiation.

Happy New Year to all.

Paxton your right about that back in the mid 70's if you didn't have a block heater or hose heater on your vehicle the only other way to get it started when it was -35 or colder was to put some kinda heat under the engine and cover up the hood now we just go out and start them like it was summertime and we actually get heat out before 25 miles down the road!!

Larry