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I'm on my way out (again!) but woncer if you have started to browse through the 600+ stories of men who've made their choices ahead of you and which are on the site?
They can be found, indexed by choice of treatment at TREATMENT EXPERIENCES - there are other indexes that enable you to "match up" your diagnosis with other men, by age, PSA and Gleason Score.
Re: Re: Re: Just diagnosed - Live in Washington, D.C.
Hi Terry,
Yes, I've scrolled through the lists of fellows who have recorded their stats and histories on this site. I looked through my age group with particular interest but didn't want to start emailing right away until I read a little more and browsed through the message board.
At some point, I will probably contact some of those fellows directly, especially those who had brachytherapy.
Hi Tom ... I'm still fairly new to the healing process or so I've heard.
I had the seed implant procedure in 10/07 followed by five weeks of external radiation in 12/07 & 1/08.
My numbers were somewhat higher than yours with a PSA of 115, gleason 7 & T1c. Six months after completing the radiation treatments my PSA was 3.0.
I was 60 in 2007 and had no symptoms whatsoever. My Urologist and Oncologist told me that the recovery process would last "a few months".
It was at this very forum that I discovered just how wrong they were.
The day after the implant procedure when the catheter came out I experienced the typical symptoms ... pain, burning, frequency and urgency but nothing else.
I was started on Flomax and it helped a little. I consider myself 70 to 80% improved at this time.
Impotence continues to be a problem but, as with the urination, does appear to be improving.
One note: I was told just the opposite ... that the seed implant/radiation was the least likely to have long lasting/permanent effects. Then again, these are the same folks that told me the recovery process would last only a few months ... go figure.
Good luck Tom in whatever you decide ... it's a crapshoot, a flip of the coin and everyone is affected differently it seems.
My story is under radiation, Phred X. My email is there, write if you want, I'll be happy to discuss the details further.
Thanks Phred - I'll check out your story. I've set a couple of weeks from now as the decision point and I continue to be surprised by how much new information I'm finding.
If you are thiking of seeds read Dr Michael Dattoli's book, "Brachytherapy and IMRT" it contains a lot of useful information.
Also the PCRI.org web site has a lot of information on all treatment options, click on "newly diagonised"
Gooog luck in your choice.
JohnT
