Prostate Cancer Survivors

 

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Re: So, just how bad are the side effects...

TG,

I don't know if you have made a decision yet, but here's my two cents worth anyway.

The outcome of any therapy both as to final result and side effects varies enormously. The three key factors I believe are

First and foremost the skill of the people carrying out the therapy.

Secondly the variant of the tumour - there are at least 24 according to a recent article, although some say there are 42.

Thirdly, the man's own physiology and physcial condition. Some of us feel pain more than others, some of us heal quicker- and so on.

In short there is no answer. I don't know if you have read through the appropriate stories on the SURVIVORS STORIES pages. For me, they present a good view of potential outcomes.

Good luck whatever your path.

Terry in Australia

Re: So, just how bad are the side effects...

One pretty devatating potential side affect is CANCER. No radiation onclogist will ever talk about it cause theres no way to conclusively prove that a bowel cancer that pops up 15 years later is related to the radiation treatment. But if pressed I think they will all acknowledge that its possible. Mine did. Just think with EB the radiation enters AND exits, everyting it touches is damaged to a degree. The theory being the dose is low enough that healthy cell can recover. Proton beam is claimed to be better; releasing most of its energy to the target, and bracy has limited radation outside of the prostate, but still has a radiation zone beyoud the prostate.

Re: So, just how bad are the side effects...

Thanks for your comment.

While discussing my options and in written documentation, the surgeons oncologists and specialist nurse have repeatedly and without prompting mentioned the possibility of cancer being caused by the radiation. Of course, they also noted that the probability is very difficult to determine (compared to the probability of other side effects), simply because it is difficult to determine the cause of any particular cancer.

If they hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have trusted them.

The meetings I've had with my consultants have been long (usually >45mins [*]) and fun (yes, really: there's a problem we have to solve, and problem solving is fun). Maybe that's part of the reason they've been so forthcoming, but I doubt it.

Overall I'm phlegmatic about radiation-induced cancer: it is just a different way to die, whereas I'm more anxious about the different ways I might need to endure living.

[*] and free - thank heavens for the NHS. Since I can't afford insurance, in a country without the NHS my daughter would either lose me or her inheritance.

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