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Did you start radiation immediately or wait until PSA was 0.2 ng/ml
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Sep 4 11:26am | Replies (49)Comment receiving replies
I’m in the planning stage (dosimeter, mapping) for my proton therapy. This is at Mayo, highly respected. Twice I’ve asked whether he will treat the lymph nodes. He says no, he only treats what he thinks is there. That is in keeping with my philosophy, so I’m okay, as long as nothing in the recent imaging changes that. That raises the risk, maybe, but my gut tells me over-treating might affect me worse. They’re doing a genomic trial and that might change things.
Replies to "I’m in the planning stage (dosimeter, mapping) for my proton therapy. This is at Mayo, highly..."
My husband has been treated and monitored since January 2011 by Dr. Kwon at Mayo Rochester, and by several radiation oncologists there as well. Every single one of them repeats the statement "We can't treat what we can't see." I know it is frustrating to wait for something to show up, but it's probably better than taking a shot in the dark that might cause harm and do not good. Hang in there!
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Robert, “he only treats what he thinks is there.” If you take that statement completely out of context and apply it to anything else -
Car repair, leaky roof, plumbing issue, etc., would you accept that? I certainly wouldn’t. I would want to know how he/she comes to that conclusion.
Who the heck REALLY KNOWS where these miserable cells are?? He doesn’t, and neither did my RO or anyone else’s - that’s for sure.
Treatment of the pelvic nodes in salvage radiation is not an opinion any longer, but an established norm.
If you are talking about primary treatment - no prior surgery - that’s still debatable. Many RO’s still favor IMRT vs SBRT in cases where either Gleason score or MRI/PSMA findings indicate possible spread from the gland.
But you’re at Mayo, one of the best, so I guess you have to take him at his word. We’re all kind of in the same boat - we can ask, we can pester and we can push, but in the end the Drs do what they want anyway. Best on your treatment!
Phil