Connect
← Return to How Important Is Having A Full Bladder During Radiation Treatment?
Discussion
How Important Is Having A Full Bladder During Radiation Treatment?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Mar 10 2:37pm | Replies (46)Comment receiving replies
My husband has been diagnosed with Gleason 9 prostate cancer. His PSMA PET/CT shows that he has a very high grade cancer but it is contained within prostate.
I have watched many videos posted on this Non-Profit to educate prostate cancer patients about the treatment and its side-effects). A known medical oncologist, Dr. Mark Scholz and several others give out valuable information in these videos. Nowhere in these videos I heard that one has to drink 16 oz of water before radiation.
According to the videos radiation oncologists typically use a bio-absorbable hydrogel spacer (most commonly SpaceOAR) or Barel gel as a barrier to protect the rectum during prostate radiation treatment. This gel is injected between the prostate and rectum to create a $\sim$1.2 cm (half-inch) buffer, significantly reducing radiation dose to the rectum and minimizing side effects. The most recent product used as a barrier is called Bio Protect and like the two mentioned above it is biodegradable.
Replies to "My husband has been diagnosed with Gleason 9 prostate cancer. His PSMA PET/CT shows that he..."
@ambika Hydrogel is to protect the RECTUM. Drinking water and having a full bladder does 2 things: it protects the bladder due to the density of the water; it also causes the bladder to push much of the large intestine back and out of the way of the radiation.
FYI, Dr Scholz is nice to listen to but he omits a LOT of important details, especially the nitty gritty that is vital for successful treatment.
Phil
@ambika
Yes, the barrier gel is really important if you are having radiation. The thing is, there are more things to consider besides the barrier.
Were any of these things found in the biopsy intraductal, cribriform, Seminal vesicle invasion, EPE or ECE. (Extraprostatic extensions extra capsular extensions). They can make the cancer much more aggressive.
Because he has a Gleason nine have you been told he should get on ADT? Are they planning on putting him on it soon?. That really is an important thing to add with a Gleason nine. That can prevent reoccurrence and they usually want to do it for 18 to 24 months. It is also possible to use estrogen, With estradiol patches, Instead of ADT. It has been proven to be just as effective.
Here is a video about using estradiol instead of ADT. It cost a fraction of the money which is a reason doctors don’t recognize it. There was a patch clinical trial done in England that Showed it was just as effective as ADT, but had many if you were side effects.
https://ancan.org/
@ambika FYI - The amount of water recommended is highly variable. In my case, I apparently tend to absorb water rapidly, reducing the amount getting to the bladder. As a result, I am required to drink 32oz of water prior to treatment (luckily, I am allowed to include my morning coffee in that total). In re the spacer, I am undergoing proton beam therapy, and the protocol empoyed is a combination of features of BioProtect and SpaceOAR. BioProtect employs a balloon inserted rectally, which allows flexibility in adjusting the location of the spacer. After positioning, the balloon is filled with a biodegradable gel. Both the gel and the balloon are biodegradable. SpaceOAR injects the gel directly, and once injected, its location cannot be adjusted. In my treatment, a biodegradable gel is directly injected before the start of treatment. Then, each day (5 days/week) after positioning on the table, a balloon is inserted, positioned and inflated, providing additional space, before the treatment starts. The balloon is removed after treatment.
Connect
@ambika
My radiation team provided a penis aluminum/foam lined clamp to help with holding urine before radiation. Worked well with no damage to Mr. Johnson. A full bladder is critical to protect bowels and bladder tissues from possible burning with a radiation treatment. I too found it really hard to hold without this little clamp.Especially after drinking the quarts of water as directed before RT.