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Anyone had Proton Beam SBRT radiation at Mayo Clinic?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Jun 23, 2022 | Replies (48)Comment receiving replies
Yes, I think you are right. My doses were probably stronger than yours and I had some urinary problems. Quite a bit of pain after my fifth dosage that was controlled with Aleve and Flomax. I'm still on the Flomax. I had the fewest doses of anyone I met. Not everyone had the Lupron shots. I think it depends on how advanced the cancer. I was told that the Lupron would increase my chances of SURVIVAL by 20 percent. Still it's at 80 percent. The key is whether or not it travels to other parts of the body. If it does, it becomes much harder to treat. That's why they keep checking your PSA. The cancer is caused by mutations of genes in your DNA. They can test to see where the problem exists, and for some gene mutations there are alternate treatments just like for breast cancer. They looked at my DNA afterwards to see if it could be Inherited. Fortunately, it wasn't. I wasn't aware of this option before treatment.
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That was one thing about my sessions...I never had any pain. I, too, had a Lupron shot before the sessions. That cuts down on the testosterone production so that the cancer has a lesser chance of growing. It was for 6 months, although it's side effects can last up to a year or so. Time will tell as to whether they will prescribe another shot. I had more hot flashes with it in the beginning, but it has slowed to just a few each day now....that was first given in early October 2019.
The SpaceOar makes a huge difference, too, in the rectum area of potential problems. That was offered to me when we were first looking at Proton treatment----but, not when it had to change course to Photon instead, due to my insurance not yet covering Proton treatments. However, having learned all that I had about the SpaceOar, I definitely wanted that and requested it. My oncologist was fine with that, and my insurance did cover that part.