Radiation treatment planning

Have heard of this as possible side effects of the installation. It’s unfortunate as you never want to be included in the percentage of that side effect. I don’t know that I have ever been aware of actually one of those statistics. Certainly not very long ago there was no such thing as the balloon spacers. Fortunately today’s radiation is so much more directed and focused than in the past when patients did not even have the availability of these spacers. I would certainly specifically discuss this with the Radiation Oncologist and what the increase in the degree of side effects could be expected.

Perhaps this is not such a big worry. Where I had radiation treatments--a place I have confidence in--the doc said there simply is not reliable evidence that the spacer accomplishes enough to merit using it. Wheel1's comment about the modern ability to aim the radiation seems right. The technicians have to do that to adjust to the amount of urine in the bladder anyway.

I do not know if you have the bioprotect product, but it has a 10–18 mm of uniform space creation, and some consider it better than gel spacers, which I had in 2023.

I have also heard that, that product, once inserted, can be deflated and any fluid drained but a new one would have to be put in.

If it were me, I would do a telehealth with a center of excellence Radiation oncologist with experience with your particular spacer and get an opinion of the Imaging.

If you are getting Radiation, I would also consider either the Elekta unity or the Mridian both of which have built-in MRIs so the margins and therefore the healthy tissue exposure is less so your side effects should be less.

My radiation oncologist was in no hurry to start radiation treatments. He put me on ADT (Orgovyx) right away. When I wondered about why he was in no hurry to start the radiation, which I referred to as the "treatment", he said "you are being treated" The ADT stopped the cancer in its tracks. My PSA started going down, and according to the RO, my prostate started to shrink in size. Since he was going to perform HDR (high dose brachytherapy) in addition to photon external beam, he wanted to be working with a smaller gland when he did the brachy.

A 3 or 4 month delay might be perfectly acceptable in your situation. By then whatever spacer they put in should have dissolved and they can put another one in.

@climateguy
If that is the case (that spacers do dissolve) - this is brilliant out of the box idea IMHO, and especially since 3+4 is not usually aggressive in nature, anyways. However, I personally would ask for different and more experienced doctor for future insertion.

Otherwise, some centers do not use spacers.

@dougajoi - if you at the end decide to proceed with RT anyways, perhaps you might try to introduce inulin fiber as supplement to his diet since some studies showed protective effect of that fiber to short and long term side effects. I bought that fiber for my husband - he is going through RT now. Just make sure to try it out before RT starts to see how his guts react to it - for some people supposedly it can cause gas. My husband has zero problems with using it.

This is an excerpt from the article but you can google and find other papers :

"A new research project we’re funding will look at whether a common fibre supplement could make radiotherapy for prostate cancer work better and cause fewer side effects.

If it works, the study could improve radiotherapy for the more than 18,000 men who have this treatment each year.

Radiotherapy can cause side effects including diarrhoea, bowel bleeding and bladder problems. These can have a big impact on a man’s quality of life during treatment and long afterwards. One reason this happens is that radiotherapy can cause inflammation that damages the gut.

This new research project, called the DIETRICH (pronounced ‘diet rich’) study, aims to tackle this by testing whether a fibre supplement called inulin can prevent these side effects or make them less severe.

Supporting the good bacteria

Inulin is a common fibre supplement that helps the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut to grow. These bacteria can help reduce inflammation, so they may also help reduce side effects from radiotherapy.

Early research from the team also suggests that inulin might make radiotherapy more effective at treating the cancer.

If that’s the case, this fibre supplement could make radiotherapy easier to live with, while also improving survival and reducing the risk of the cancer coming back.

DIETRICH is being led by Professor Anne Kiltie from the University of Aberdeen alongside co-lead Professor Ananya Choudhury from The University of Manchester. The project is backed by more than £660,000 from our Research Innovation Awards, which support bold ideas with the potential to change how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated, and improve life for men with prostate cancer.

If DIETRICH is successful, it could change how prostate cancer is treated. As well as improving men’s quality of life, it could also make treatment more cost-effective for healthcare systems, because fewer side effects would mean less need for extra treatment and hospital visits."