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End of Radiation

Posted by bob1955 @bob1955, 6 days ago

Completed yesterday: 28 sessions (Rad Onc's advice) of EBRT/IMRT/VMAT on a Varian Truebeam CT-Linac with CTCB Image guidance, SpaceOar and tissue markers. Go Photons. Beam on for 3 minutes each session.
Mild acute side effects. Didn't find bowel/ bladder protocol difficult. Began speaking in sentence fragments.
In 3-5 years (someone refresh my recall) I'll know if it all worked... perhaps.
Now, Counting down the days to the last Orgovyx tablet. Only side effects: low/no libido, visceral fat accumulation, modest TG boost
I have a prescription for a 12-week cancer rehab/ reconditioning program. Will soon be strong like bull.
And I hope to get on a GLP-1 program. (Already hit the max on the Part D plans paying for Orgovyx, so drugs are no cost now for rest of year)
Cheers everyone

Age: 70, tc2, GG3, 4+3, PSA 8, low-volume disease

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

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surftohealth88 | @surftohealth88 | 3 days ago
In reply to @brianjarvis "@surftohealth88 ADT (Lupron/Eligard/etc.) may cause a brief “spike” in testosterone which can result in what is..." + (show)
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@surftohealth88 ADT (Lupron/Eligard/etc.) may cause a brief “spike” in testosterone which can result in what is called "tumor flare” or “testosterone flare.” This is not a good thing to happen since prostate cancer feeds on testosterone. (This may also cause a spike in PSA.)

However, this spike can be prevented by starting with Bicalutimide (Casodex) a short period of time before starting ADT, which blocks testosterone from attaching to prostate cancer cells, which reduces the risk of tumor (testosterone) flare when hormone therapy is started.

Tumor flare does not last long and will go away as the T level continues to drop.

(Firmagon and Orgovyx work via different mechanisms and don’t result in that T spike.)

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@brianjarvis
OH- I totally messed up, I am so sorry - mixed up names of meds. Now it makes total sense and thank you so much for detailed explanation.
It is good to know if for whatever reason our doctor insists on Lupron instead of Orgovyx. 👍

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bob1955 | @bob1955 | 2 days ago

Just a data point. Four days after the last session urination begins to improve and I don't have the hesitation (60 seconds?) any more.

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rtmcknight | @rtmcknight | 1 day ago

I had my 28th session on Sep 12th, 2024, a day that seemed a long time coming.

I also had no bowel issues but the bladder ones were nasty and, disappointingly, continued to increase after the treatment ended. As per my other posts, short term Oxybutynin and (so far permanent) Tamsulosin resolved my problems.

I'm commenting to encourage you on the GLP-1. At first on ADT my weight gain and muscle loss were steady but I've been lifting weights and been on Tirzepitide (Zepbound) for several months. The results are impressive - I'm at a weight I haven't seen since my 20's. I seem to have overcome the fatigue smorgasbord of radiation, ADT and GLP-1 and as of today I'm on my very last bottle of Zytiga.

My PSA has been undetectable since the first test after ADT began.

Sending you some light from (nearly) the end of the long, nasty tunnel. Hang in there and good luck!

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panch0 | @panch0 | 1 day ago

Congratulations! Did you get a certificate of completion from your team? I got one myself 5 days ago. I did the 28 sessions but the beam duration seemed longer than your 3 minutes. No bowel problems but I had moderate to severe urinary side effects. Getting better everyday even if I am drinking a lot of coffee and stopped the ibuprofen. I received a 7.5 mg dose of Lupron subcutaneously because my oncologist did not like that my radiation sessions will stop 3 days beyond the last 3-month dose of Lupron. I did develop some visceral fat from the ADT and a drop in hemoglobin from 16 in October to 13.5 this month. I have no symptoms and I still continue my karate training (1 hr) and pickleball (1 hr) every morning. My PSA this month - 0.6. Testosterone - 28.
71 years old. PSA - 5.9. Gleason score - 4+3.

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garysc | @garysc | 1 day ago

If I may step into this thread, today I had my 8th radiation treatment, and I was wondering if I could ask some extra "your experiences" questions.

Background: I'm 75, in mostly good health. I had my aquablation surgery on Dec. 18th.

My hobby is woodworking, and I just spent two hours in my shop, and I am more tired than I think I ought to be. I was told that since the radiation circumnavigates my pelvic region continuously, there are significantly fewer skin issues since the focus of the beam is going into me, and not hanging around in specific locations for any period of time. Nonetheless, the hip region is where most of the red blood cells are created, and this does throw off the creation of red blood cells. Ergo, I'm likely to get tired.

However, I was told it should take about two weeks for the full effect to hit me. If so, by the end of this week, I'm going to be walloped!

So, for those who've gone through this, did it take about two weeks for the exhaustion to kick in? Did it progressively get worse, or remain about the same? Once treatment was over, how long before you felt like you didn't just complete a marathon?

Thanks for any information and advice

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heavyphil | @heavyphil | 14 hours ago
In reply to @garysc "If I may step into this thread, today I had my 8th radiation treatment, and I..." + (show)
Profile picture for garysc @garysc

If I may step into this thread, today I had my 8th radiation treatment, and I was wondering if I could ask some extra "your experiences" questions.

Background: I'm 75, in mostly good health. I had my aquablation surgery on Dec. 18th.

My hobby is woodworking, and I just spent two hours in my shop, and I am more tired than I think I ought to be. I was told that since the radiation circumnavigates my pelvic region continuously, there are significantly fewer skin issues since the focus of the beam is going into me, and not hanging around in specific locations for any period of time. Nonetheless, the hip region is where most of the red blood cells are created, and this does throw off the creation of red blood cells. Ergo, I'm likely to get tired.

However, I was told it should take about two weeks for the full effect to hit me. If so, by the end of this week, I'm going to be walloped!

So, for those who've gone through this, did it take about two weeks for the exhaustion to kick in? Did it progressively get worse, or remain about the same? Once treatment was over, how long before you felt like you didn't just complete a marathon?

Thanks for any information and advice

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@garysc Hey, I too was extremely fatigued for months after my SRT. A blood test did show suppression of all cells - both WBC’s and RBC’s.
As you accurately point out, the pelvis is the main area for origination of these cells and radiation does affect them.
A follow up blood test 6 months later showed marked improvement and my post radiation fatigue has improved.
However, I still find myself needing a short nap in the early afternoons but chalk that up to the simple aging process…yeah - ‘simple’😳
Phil

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johnt15 | @johnt15 | 7 hours ago
In reply to @garysc "If I may step into this thread, today I had my 8th radiation treatment, and I..." + (show)
Profile picture for garysc @garysc

If I may step into this thread, today I had my 8th radiation treatment, and I was wondering if I could ask some extra "your experiences" questions.

Background: I'm 75, in mostly good health. I had my aquablation surgery on Dec. 18th.

My hobby is woodworking, and I just spent two hours in my shop, and I am more tired than I think I ought to be. I was told that since the radiation circumnavigates my pelvic region continuously, there are significantly fewer skin issues since the focus of the beam is going into me, and not hanging around in specific locations for any period of time. Nonetheless, the hip region is where most of the red blood cells are created, and this does throw off the creation of red blood cells. Ergo, I'm likely to get tired.

However, I was told it should take about two weeks for the full effect to hit me. If so, by the end of this week, I'm going to be walloped!

So, for those who've gone through this, did it take about two weeks for the exhaustion to kick in? Did it progressively get worse, or remain about the same? Once treatment was over, how long before you felt like you didn't just complete a marathon?

Thanks for any information and advice

Jump to this post

@garysc
Hello,
I finished 5 days of SBRT 14 days ago today. For me the tiredness started to build on the last day of treatment and peaked about 3-4 days ago. Since then, I have noticed pretty quick improvement on that front. I forced myself to keep active when I was tired (within reason). Good luck!

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