Traveling post SBRT

Posted by bennybenedetti @bennybenedetti, Sep 15 2:23pm

I'm a healthy, active, fit 69 year-old. My wife and I have a vacation planned, flying to the Cabo San Lucas area for a week. As it turns out, the vacation starts nine days after I'll have completed SBRT. My attitude in life is to find a way to do things, not a reason not to. But I'm curious if anyone has experiences or thoughts to share with respect to traveling that soon after treatment. Thx.

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ucla2025 | @ucla2025 | Sep 15 2:48pm

I am also interested in other’s experiences with traveling after radiation. We are the same situation, have plans to travel soon after the treatment.

toolbelt | @toolbelt | Sep 15 9:25pm

It wasn't 9 days, but 3 weeks after my SBRT I went on a two week SCUBA trip. I had absolutely no problems. I did walk 18 holes of golf 4, 6, and 7 days after my final treatment. I had some GI urgency (that did not amount to anything) one of those days. If you respond as well as I did you will be fine.
Stay Strong Brother, We Got This

jeff Marchi | @jeffmarc | Sep 15 9:27pm

You may have urinary issues after SBRT. My brother did and I know a lot of other people that did after SBRT. That is a problem if you’ve had your prostate treated with SBRT, Not if you’ve just had bone mets zapped.

You may want to get a prescription for flowmax before you go if you had your prostate treated.

lag | @lag | Sep 16 5:46am

If the SBRT is only to bone mets, you will have no problems with travel soon after treatment ends.

bens1 | @bens1 | Sep 16 6:29am

I traveled, for about a month after treatment, with one of those plastic hospital pee bottles and found it to be quite useful when I was in a car with delayed traffic or when I was on a highway and the service center had closed both bathrooms for cleaning and no service center for an additional 25 miles. I was on Flomax for a short time and that helped with the flow but for a little bit, the urgency really made me choose other options when I was not at home. Although I never bought one, here is a link to some foldable small ones on Amazon that may help:
https://www.amazon.com/Travel-John-66911-TravelJohn-Disposable-Urinal/dp/B000NV878S/ref=asc_df_B000NV878S?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80539278509586&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=72521&hvtargid=pla-4584138857627895&psc=1

callibaetis | @callibaetis | Sep 16 8:43am

I flew from Montana to Patagonia about a month after having completed IMRT and brachytherapy. The biggest issue for me was the day and a half of travel and the discomfort that went along with being stuffed into an airplane seat. Urinary issues weren't much of an issue. I was on tamsulosin (Flomax) and didn't consume excess liquids.

Roxy2017 | @roxy2017 | Sep 16 11:26am

3 days after completing 20 days of VMAT to the prostate and a lymph node, my wife and I flew from the East Coast to Hawaii. Flowmax helped. Well worth the relatively minor discomfort. I am 70 and otherwise in excellent health.

erbill | @erbill | Sep 17 9:11am

In reply to @jeffmarc "You may have urinary issues after SBRT. My brother did and I know a lot of..." + (show)

Jeff
have you seen any data regarding starting either or both tamsulosin and cialis 5mg 1-2 weeks prior rad start? wondering if there is an advantage of improving flow prior rad.

daveinflorida | @daveinflorida | Sep 17 9:19am

Although I had 25 treatment proton therapy, not SBRT, 5 days after the my last treatment I flew cross country for 5 days and back with no issues. I had been on Flowmax for the last few weeks of therapy and had no urinary issues. There was some diarrhea the last few weeks but that cleared up pretty quickly when treatment ended and I had no issues with that either, just very cautious the first few days of the trip.

icorps | @icorps | Sep 17 10:12am

I suppose it turns what they zap and where and how much
But my experience with it was the only problem w nausea was on the day I was treated. It was real on my knees wretching. So bevready for that. I took bus home and thank God I was off it when it hit. But basically one and done. Might bring memories of freshman overindulgence. No untoward effects after a couple of days.