Proton Therapy for prostate cancer

@rcs My prostate cancer was also contained within the prostate.. After my local urologist did a test that could only be read at a few larger facilities, I went to Mayo MN to their Radiation Oncologist (RO) .. That was about a year and a half ago.. They gave me a hormone shot.. Lupron (30 mg) .. that is to shrink the prostate. The Radiation could start 2 months after that shot. I chose to take the Radiation (Proton) in my Central Iowa hospital /clinic.. The Radiation Oncologist there had trained with the Mayo MN Doctor and the equipment was similar.. The RO Doctor in Iowa then injected a spacer material to move the bowel away from the prostate.. That spacer dissolves after the 20 radiation treatments are done in 4 weeks.. every week day for a month... They put you on a table in front of the machine and it revolves around you.. they made small tattoo marks on my body so they could put me in the same position each treatment.. The process is painless.. (sure the placing of the spacer and tattoo were uncomfortable but they did the trick.. the staff gave me a graduation diploma .. They want your bowels to be full during the radiation.. so bowel movement timing is everything.. I had to take Gas-X every night to eliminate as much intestinal gas as possible.. After treatment the RO calls you in each 3 months for a year to do a PSA test... mine were around 0.5 ... so he and I were pleased... Now I just go every 6 months for a check-up... The Radiation makes you fatigued... and I had some very loose stools for a while.. but all in all .. a great result.. There are side effects from that hormone shot.. Read up on those..

@rcs My prostate cancer was also contained within the prostate.. After my local urologist did a test that could only be read at a few larger facilities, I went to Mayo MN to their Radiation Oncologist (RO) .. That was about a year and a half ago.. They gave me a hormone shot.. Lupron (30 mg) .. that is to shrink the prostate. The Radiation could start 2 months after that shot. I chose to take the Radiation (Proton) in my Central Iowa hospital /clinic.. The Radiation Oncologist there had trained with the Mayo MN Doctor and the equipment was similar.. The RO Doctor in Iowa then injected a spacer material to move the bowel away from the prostate.. That spacer dissolves after the 20 radiation treatments are done in 4 weeks.. every week day for a month... They put you on a table in front of the machine and it revolves around you.. they made small tattoo marks on my body so they could put me in the same position each treatment.. The process is painless.. (sure the placing of the spacer and tattoo were uncomfortable but they did the trick.. the staff gave me a graduation diploma .. They want your bowels to be full during the radiation.. so bowel movement timing is everything.. I had to take Gas-X every night to eliminate as much intestinal gas as possible.. After treatment the RO calls you in each 3 months for a year to do a PSA test... mine were around 0.5 ... so he and I were pleased... Now I just go every 6 months for a check-up... The Radiation makes you fatigued... and I had some very loose stools for a while.. but all in all .. a great result.. There are side effects from that hormone shot.. Read up on those..

@rcs How did it go on the 9th of Dec.. Certainly you had more tests than the simple blood test for PSA.. What was the outcome of those tests? I was 82 when I had the Radiation Oncology.. Ken

Greetings @rcs, welcome to Connect. I am the caregiver for my life partner. He had very similar stats...69 years old...PSA in the 8 range and trending up aggressively. The key to treatment choices always includes an answer to the question.....is the tumor contained in the prostate or has it spread somewhere outside. An MRI will show you those results.

He chose surgery for the following reason: aggressive tumor growth yet still contained. So he started with hormone therapy to reduce the amount of testosterone that was being generated to feed the tumor. Then he had the surgery. Two years later when a cell on the bladder margin dropped into the prostate bed...his PSA started to climb. Then he had the proton therapy chosen for him.....30 consecutive days while in residence in Rochester.

While chatting with other patients we found every treatment plan to be slightly different depending on results along the journey to cancer free.

I am sure others will join in and reveal their treatment sequence. For example, Jay’s hormone treatment was for 3 months. His friend’s was for 5 weeks. That depends on the type of injection used based on the job to be done inside.

Some folks have 5 days of “beam” radiation....and others have 30 days like Jay did. Every day while in treatment there are meetings with clinicians and providers on the medical team assigned to take amazingly good care to watch for any symptoms that might require attention.

Good luck to you. If you are at Mayo Clinic you are in very, good hands.

Chris

I scheduled to do 20 days of proton the first of the year. My first appt is 1/5/21. I’m not certain about the hormonal therapy. He said we could discuss when we get out there but I have small prostrate so who knows.

Hi rcs, I started my proton therapy 2 years ago tomorrow. I had 20 treatments at Phoenix Mayo over 4 weeks. My experience was similar to those mentioned with slight exception. They wanted my bladder full and then inserted a balloon in the rectum and filled with water. This was to hold the prostrate in place. The actual scan was less then a minute. Before the scan, they use the tattoos and carbon inerts placed in the prostrate during the prep stage a week or so before treatment. At that time using scans they program the computer to locate the prostrate. Before each treatment, they used xray and laser machines to focus the robotic arm of treatment table so the prostrate is in the correct position. Only real issue was drinking water before hand to fill bladder. If you don't time it right, you may need to urinate before the treatment and start over. The best part is when you get to ring the bell after the last treatment to indicate you are now cancer free.

Not sure if you are taking Antigen Deprivation Therapy as well. I've talked to some patients at your level who did not need it. If you are, you've probably had the first injection. There's another alternative to Lupron that acts faster and you recover faster, but can't find reference right now.

I am evaluating therapies at the moment. My urology Dr.Kurtz, has made me an appointment, with an oncologist to explain to me the different treatment that are available. Proton therapy, is not available here in las vegas. Which I am most interested in. I am 69, the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. Trying to figure out which treatment offers me the best chances for a cure with less side effects. (i.e) (leakages)