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Patient movement during proton therapy more problematic than photon?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Aug 11 10:40am | Replies (16)Comment receiving replies
@carter777 Sorry you had to go through what sounds like an active surveillance process of waiting because of your doctors interpretation of the initial tests.
I had narrowed my radiation choice down to Proton or a specific type of photon radiation machine called the Linac MRIdian. There are many differences in the machines used for photon and for proton and the differences are numerous and do impact the experience and results.
My focus was, of course on effectiveness but also on side effects and quality of life. The MRIdian was one of two types of photon radiation machines that had a built in MRI so what they saw in real time, they treated. It makes a big difference ( google the mirage randomized trial). Proton did not have that type of built in MRI machine available. My side effects were minimal with initial urination restrictions which were handled by taking Flomax. If the Proton machine had a built in MRI, I might have chosen it.
Medicare did pay for my treatment but money is a component in the decision making process of hospitals and there have been a couple of comments I have seen regarding Mayo and other hospitals about backing away when money was no longer available. Having said that, they are a center of excellence with a good record with treating prostate cancer.
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@bens1 Thanks for your response and your good thoughts. Regarding the progress of my disease, I asked my Mayo RO if it was common for a case to go from an initial biopsy result of benign lesion to a second biopsy only 9 months later that shows pretty extensive Gleason 4+4 adenocarcinoma in multiple areas of the prostate. The RO said he had never seen this before and wondered aloud if possibly my initial biopsy samples were confused with those of another patient. But, I know that biopsies sometimes miss the cancer and that doctors are human and make mistakes sometimes, and that maybe the cancer was not present at all at the time of the initial biopsy. This shall remain a mystery and I accept it.
I really appreciate the info about the built-in MRI photon machines and what I take to be your excellent results with that therapy. I will definitely educate myself on this and look at the randomized trial. This is great info for me.
I was really drawn to the idea of proton therapy causing (much?) less damage to surrounding healthy tissue and (probably?) minimizing the chance of a 2nd cancer down the road caused by the therapy itself, such as bladder, rectal, bone, lymphoma or leukemia. But I am a layman trying to learn, and admit that in my current heightened state of anxiety I maybe have been influenced by a "new-shiny-object" effect. I will learn more and seek out the views of expert RO's and technologists, as well as the valuable sharing of experience from members of this group.
Regarding insurance, I think my Mayo RO may not have been aware of a new contract this year between the Mayo Clinic and my insurance company that puts Mayo physicians "in-network" for my plan. In fact, having Mayo in-network was a big factor in my choice of plan.
Thank you again!