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Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
I was recently diagnosed with PCa GS7. I am interested in finding out more about hypofractioned proton therapy(done in 20 fractions rather than 45)Has anyone done this form of proton therapy or at least have a better understanding of the side effects compared to the conventional 45 fraction option. I'm trying to my the best choice possible and really appreciate any insight someone may have on this subject.
Re: Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
From a physician survivor:
Why have you focused on proton therapy?
If you want complete cure, other modalities offer better established odds.
But cure is less of an issue if your life expectancy is shorter. The most common cause of death in PC patients is heart attack. Far more men die with PC than die from it. With a shorter life expectancy slowing the PC down for ten years may be all you need.
Only if your life expectancy is over eight or ten years does complete cure become very important. If this is the case, I think you should consider other forms of treatment.
Re: Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
Brooke,
I have researched and considered all forms of treatment, and according to my findings proton therapy has cure rates comparable to both surgery and conventional radiation. When you mention, complete cure, what type of therapy and what clinical evidence are you referring to. Also, no where have I found as much positive patient testimony as I have with patients formerly treated with proton beam therapy. When considering both cure rates and quality of life, proton therapy makes the most sense for me at this time.
Re: Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
Kirk
One of the most frustrating aspects of prostate cancer is the disagreement among the bona fide experts. The best any of us can do is conduct as much research as time permits and make our decision based on our circumstances including our personal values.
Best wishes Don O.
Re: Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
I had 44 treatments, and have experienced post treatment hip pain. It appears to be tissue inflammation. I had no side effects during the treatment, but I have heard the 20 treatments could have more side effects during the treatment due to the higher dose. My PSA has dropped dramatically in the year since I had treatment.
Re: Safety and side effects of 20 treatment Hypofractioned proton therapy
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back. I'm getting on in years, and it slipped my mind. Found you again on a board review this morning.
Complete cure means low and stable PSA ten years after treatment. To my knowledge, no recurrence has ever been reported after ten years. This is why many PC studies are terminated after ten years.
To tell you which treatments produce the highest cure rates I would need to know the risk category of your tumor. If yours is a low risk tumor, a number of treatments provide comparable cure rates, and choice of treatment is less important. For higher risk tumors, choosing the best option is very important.
The limited data I have seen shows protons performing very well. My reservation about protons is much less data over shorter follow-up periods. More patients over longer periods means higher confidence in the results. The most recent proton data I have seen is from 2012; if there have been more studies of more patients over longer periods since then, the evidence for protons may now be more solid than I have seen.
Scientifically, patient testimony is not reliable; each testimony covers one patient, who may or may not be typical, over varying periods of time. It is in the nature of disease and statistics that information gathered from large numbers of patients over long periods of time is much more reliable than individual reports.
So I want to see statistics on larger numbers of patients; the more patients and the longer the follow-up period the more reliable is the data. This is how I chose my own treatment.
