Questions about radiation, post radical prostate surgery

@jimb1950 I am so sorry you had to go thru that surgery, it can be tough. Can you tell me if the lymph nodes were also taken out and if they were positive. How have you been doing since surgery? As far as radiation goes, the radiation doctor tries their best to only focus on the specific area of interest. Have you had a meeting with the radiation oncologist yet?
This site has some good discussions on prostate cancer. It might be very good to look at
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/prostate-cancer/

Yes my nodes were negative, I’ve had to have urethra dilated since & cath in place last two weeks, get it out tomorrow. I did meet with oncologist who said they treat the bowl as they don’t know exactly where the small area (3mm) is. Just wondering if there are any other option available? Thank you for post & info I will read on.

Hi @jimb1950, I also add my welcome. I have moved your message to the Prostate Cancer support group. In this group you will meet other men who have asked similar questions and faced treatment decisions. There are different types of radiation treatments for prostate cancer. You may be interested in reading and joining these discussions:
- Prostate cancer treatment: stereotactic body radiation therapy https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/prostate-cancer-treatment/
- Brachytherapy planning and execution https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/brachytherapy-planning-and-execution/
- Proton Therapy, for prostate cancer https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/proton-therapy-for-prostate-cancer/

Why not introduce yourself to the group here:
- Living with Prostate Cancer: Meet others & introduce yourself https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-prostate-cancer-meet-others-introduce-yourself/

Jim, do you know what type of radiation is being recommended for you?

External beam radiation

Jim, allow me to invite @dmadi61 @norske46 @hodagwi @fmh1 and @safari1949 into this discussion. They have all had external beam radiation for prostate cancer and may be able to share their experiences and answer your questions about how the radiation was done (radiating a particular area or whole pelvic bowl) and how many treatments they had.

While we wait for others to share their experiences, this article from Mayo Clinic does a good job in explaining how external beam radiation works and what you can expect: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/external-beam-radiation-for-prostate-cancer/about/pac-20384743

@jimb1950, have you had a planning session with your radiation team yet?

It is now put on hold as I have urethra bladder neck con-stricture it was almost closed off, have had 2 dilations done so have to wait till this is under control in order to proceed.

Colleen, what is the publication date of the Mayo book on prostate cancer health. Amazon has a copy of it with a 2009 publication date which I fear is much out of date. Thanks.

I had external beam radiation of the prostate and the pelvic area. I have not had urinary problems. On fact i have returned to getting up once a night, if that. Many (most) nights i do not get up at all.

That’s AWSOME would be ultimate goal for me if I ever get there. How many treatments did you have & how long ago?

I finished 44 treatments on 9/18/2019.