@billfarm It's a trade-off: more-precise radiation means fewer side-effects; less-precise radiation means a better chance of catching any cancer cells that might have already spread locally (but haven't yet formed tumors big enough to detect with imaging).

I have radiation cystitis and proctitis long-term from photon RT in 2022. I definitely wouldn't describe it as "hell," just a mild discomfort (except for a bout of hematuria and urinary incontinence in summer 2023, which I overcame).

On the bright side, those side-effects are reminders that the radiation spread around my prostate and didn't just stay in it, which meant that if there were any stray cancer cells hanging around in the prostate bed, the bottom of the bladder, or my rectum, they got zapped by the radiation as well, and hopefully there won't be anything developing there in the future. 🤷