Is there a need to stay close to the clinic during radiation treatment

How many treatments does he have planned ? I had EBRT ( Salvage radiation) when my PSA hit 0.14 . I have PC in family and both my grandfather and father died from it . So not taking any chances and too Radiation early. My Operation went well, but PSA never went to 'unreadable' . kind of hovered at low level but always climbed just a bit at every blood test . My RO ( radiation Oncologist ) said , dont leave it lets be aggressive and zap it now , "pedal to the metal" approach , he indicated 22 sessions would be a cure for me possibly and NO ADT !! . I asked 5 times , no ADT Was recommended , my Urologist agreed too ! . After 22 sessions my PSA has been cooperation and PSA is now 0.061 to about 0.032 . So very low reading . Dr's. think the low readings are from a very small amount of healthy cells left over from operation. Generally radiation does not kill healthy cells per se . You dad is 30 minutes away , is it Salvage / EBRT ? If so , he has to drink plenty of water BEFORE radiation . SO if it is Salvage radiation you will hav etc get their real early so he can get that 1.0 litre or 1.5 litres of fluids in him. Now if it is a different kind of radiation ....I still think it is OK for you to be 30 minutes away ! I live on Vancouver Island , so I had a 1.2 hour driver to Victoria Hospital where they do this . My Health plan said , no problem , we will pay for Hotel and meals for you during weeks so you dont have to drive , as you get tired during procedure as time goes on . So they paid fo army hotel and meals and such . I was very comfortable . There were plenty of Prostate guys in the area of the hospital too so I was able to go to dinner and lunch and walk with many of the guys too ! I hope this helps in a way . Let us know how he does . God Bless . James on Vancouver Island .

He will spend more time in the waiting room than the actual radiation which takes 10 minutes max. Drink 30 oz. of water 45 minutes before radiation and don't pee it out will help protect his bowels. I would suggest asking for Oxybutynin prior to starting radiation for bladder urgency. Also hydrogel spacer for the rectum. If they hit it, which they did mine he won't be able to control his bowels near the end or shortly afterwards. It can be a total mess. You didn't state how many sessions he will be getting. Best wishes on the journey.

I am 74 and had daily radiation for 8 weeks, 5 days a week. The cancer center was an hour away and I drove. The radiation itself was no problem, but the commute was a pain.

My hubby is 82 and Stage 4, Gleason 9 and the cancer has broken outside of the capsule but not in the bones or lymph node.

We started radiation almost 2 years ago. My husband doesn’t drive (glaucoma) so we would make the trip every day and I am very glad I was with him. He did absolutely fine - and like everyone says, make sure you drink the amount of water the radiologist tells you to. We always did the first appointment in the a.m. so we had the day to ourselves. Doug did fine - just took a longer nap than usual. Your Dad will be fine. And he is so lucky to have you moving close to him. Good luck! Hope all goes well. Hugs!

I had five weeks of IMRT at a major center of excellence facility. I drank 33 oz of water on the one hour drive in and also had a cup of coffee on the drive. I found the coffee worked click clock work and I was able to have a bowel movement before my treatments.

As others have said in this thread, everyone is different. You will learn what fills your bladder and empties your bowels fairly quickly. From that point on you just repeat the process until your treatments end

Good luck