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Will I be able to drive myself to radiation treatments?

Posted by mauiboy89 @mauiboy89, Jan 28 7:31pm

I will be starting 4 weeks of daily radiation this week. My Cancer center is about an hours drive away. Will I be able to drive myself or should I seek assistance? I am 81 years old but I do my own drivng.

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brianjarvis | @brianjarvis | Jan 31 1:40pm

If you’re ordinarily fine with driving that far, you’ll have no problems.
> at 65y, I made the 40-minute drive there, and 40-minute drive back myself (28x).
> at 79y, my oldest brother made the 30-minute drive there, and 30-minute drive back himself (28x).

Do you have the full bladder/empty bowel routine all set?
> I only had to drink 18 oz of water, 30 minutes prior to treatment; it was no big deal.
> I always used the restroom immediately after each session; never had any issues on the drive home.
> If they don’t overshoot your prostate, you’ll experience little to no fatigue.
> You may spend 10 minutes on the table, but the actual radiation time might be two minutes.
> The table has 6 degrees of movement, so it’ll move you around a little to get you exactly situated.
> You should have no irritation of your rectum if they use a rectal spacer.

This is the easiest part - you just lay still while they do the heavy lifting.

REPLY
2 replies
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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Jan 31 1:59pm
In reply to @pnb "I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little..." + (show)
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I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little fatigue at end but managing bowel and bladder was at times challenging. Good luck.

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@pnb
Wow! your drive is twice as long as mine and so was the number of your treatments. that's a load off my mind. I hope I can complete my treatments while minimizing the side effects.
thank you!

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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Feb 2 2:10pm
In reply to @brianjarvis "If you’re ordinarily fine with driving that far, you’ll have no problems. > at 65y, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for brianjarvis @brianjarvis

If you’re ordinarily fine with driving that far, you’ll have no problems.
> at 65y, I made the 40-minute drive there, and 40-minute drive back myself (28x).
> at 79y, my oldest brother made the 30-minute drive there, and 30-minute drive back himself (28x).

Do you have the full bladder/empty bowel routine all set?
> I only had to drink 18 oz of water, 30 minutes prior to treatment; it was no big deal.
> I always used the restroom immediately after each session; never had any issues on the drive home.
> If they don’t overshoot your prostate, you’ll experience little to no fatigue.
> You may spend 10 minutes on the table, but the actual radiation time might be two minutes.
> The table has 6 degrees of movement, so it’ll move you around a little to get you exactly situated.
> You should have no irritation of your rectum if they use a rectal spacer.

This is the easiest part - you just lay still while they do the heavy lifting.

Jump to this post

@brianjarvis
Thanks for the info!
Arriving with a full bladder and not wanting to head for the bathroom is my big concern. I'm drinking 16oz of water one hour before my procedure. I'll see how that works out.

REPLY
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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Feb 13 9:28pm
In reply to @pnb "I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little..." + (show)
Profile picture for pnb @pnb

I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little fatigue at end but managing bowel and bladder was at times challenging. Good luck.

Jump to this post

Welcome, @pnb. How long ago did you complete treatment? How are you doing now?

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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Feb 14 1:41pm
In reply to @brianjarvis "If you’re ordinarily fine with driving that far, you’ll have no problems. > at 65y, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for brianjarvis @brianjarvis

If you’re ordinarily fine with driving that far, you’ll have no problems.
> at 65y, I made the 40-minute drive there, and 40-minute drive back myself (28x).
> at 79y, my oldest brother made the 30-minute drive there, and 30-minute drive back himself (28x).

Do you have the full bladder/empty bowel routine all set?
> I only had to drink 18 oz of water, 30 minutes prior to treatment; it was no big deal.
> I always used the restroom immediately after each session; never had any issues on the drive home.
> If they don’t overshoot your prostate, you’ll experience little to no fatigue.
> You may spend 10 minutes on the table, but the actual radiation time might be two minutes.
> The table has 6 degrees of movement, so it’ll move you around a little to get you exactly situated.
> You should have no irritation of your rectum if they use a rectal spacer.

This is the easiest part - you just lay still while they do the heavy lifting.

Jump to this post

@brianjarvis
Thanks for the reply.
Having full bladder is not a problem, It's the the other end that's causing me problems. Soft and loose stool and frequent trips to the bathroom is what I'm dealing with.

REPLY
1 reply
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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Feb 14 1:48pm
In reply to @pnb "I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little..." + (show)
Profile picture for pnb @pnb

I live in rural area and drove 2 hours one way for 44 treatments. A little fatigue at end but managing bowel and bladder was at times challenging. Good luck.

Jump to this post

@pnb
Thanks for reply.
I am half way through my 20 treatments. My bladder has not been an issue, managing my bowel has. I am experiencing frequent bowel movements with soft, watery stool. I taking Imodium AD. Hope it helps.

REPLY
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brianjarvis | @brianjarvis | Feb 14 2:49pm
In reply to @mauiboy89 "@brianjarvis Thanks for the reply. Having full bladder is not a problem, It's the the other..." + (show)
Profile picture for mauiboy89 @mauiboy89

@brianjarvis
Thanks for the reply.
Having full bladder is not a problem, It's the the other end that's causing me problems. Soft and loose stool and frequent trips to the bathroom is what I'm dealing with.

Jump to this post

@mauiboy89 Are they overshooting your prostate and hitting your intestines? That will result in loose stool.
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1 reply
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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Feb 14 7:37pm
In reply to @brianjarvis "@mauiboy89 Are they overshooting your prostate and hitting your intestines? That will result in loose stool." + (show)
Profile picture for brianjarvis @brianjarvis

@mauiboy89 Are they overshooting your prostate and hitting your intestines? That will result in loose stool.

Jump to this post

@brianjarvis
I don't know but they had a technician come in to recalibrate Proton Beam machine. Maybe the beams were missing the target.

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denany | @denany | Feb 14 9:49pm

Hello:
I had 20 salvage treatments in March 2025 at Duke which is about 55 miles from me. Everything considered it was about as difficult as having my picture taken, in other words there was nothing to it.
You will do fine.

REPLY
1 reply
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mauiboy89 | @mauiboy89 | Feb 15 1:25pm
In reply to @denany "Hello: I had 20 salvage treatments in March 2025 at Duke which is about 55 miles..." + (show)
Profile picture for denany @denany

Hello:
I had 20 salvage treatments in March 2025 at Duke which is about 55 miles from me. Everything considered it was about as difficult as having my picture taken, in other words there was nothing to it.
You will do fine.

Jump to this post

@denany
Thanks for your encouragement.
After 10 treatments, driving has not been a problem at all. This is the only time I get to listen to popular music on the radio which I enjoy.

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