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Proton radiation without the SpaceOAR gel

Posted by brentbackus @brentbackus, Dec 26, 2022

I did have my markers placed in my prostate and the Space OAR gel on Oct. 03, 2022. The placement of Space OAR gel failed. My urologist wanted to know that my anal wall was good. So I had a sigmoidoscopy done on Dec. 8, 2022. My colon and rectal doc says I can move forward with the radiation treatments. It is now knocking on Jan 2023. Can I start my proton radiation treatments without another SpaceOAR gel placement? Not all the gel has dissipated and I will not use gel again since they failed the first time.
Thoughts?

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imbimbo | @imbimbo | Dec 27, 2022

When you say it failed, what exactly do you mean? The gel takes six months to disolve completely. I had a bad experience with the space OAR also, I developed an infection in my rectal wall most likely caused by the urologist who inserted the gel. I did not get an answer as to the problem. I was scheduled to get proton therapy also but it was delayed because of the infection. The doctor indicated that I could start the treatments after the pus and blood disappeared from my stool but I declined as I lost all faith in the institution that did this to me. The doctor told me that inserting a baloon or reinserting the gel is not a good idea in that the rectal wall was irritated and he further stated that the gel is all marketing. That turned me off completely. I had a colonoscopy and they saw an ulcer and redness on the wall so I am not sure if I can get radiation at this point. The colonscopy was October, 2022 and the infection lasted until August, 2022. I am getting an MRI at the end of January to see what is going on with the cancer and will get a PSA also. I have looked into HIFU to kill the cancer as an alternative to these wonderful treatments. By the way, the gel and the fiducials were inserted June, 2022.

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stebro | @stebro | Jan 11, 2023
In reply to @imbimbo "When you say it failed, what exactly do you mean? The gel takes six months to..." + (show)
@imbimbo

When you say it failed, what exactly do you mean? The gel takes six months to disolve completely. I had a bad experience with the space OAR also, I developed an infection in my rectal wall most likely caused by the urologist who inserted the gel. I did not get an answer as to the problem. I was scheduled to get proton therapy also but it was delayed because of the infection. The doctor indicated that I could start the treatments after the pus and blood disappeared from my stool but I declined as I lost all faith in the institution that did this to me. The doctor told me that inserting a baloon or reinserting the gel is not a good idea in that the rectal wall was irritated and he further stated that the gel is all marketing. That turned me off completely. I had a colonoscopy and they saw an ulcer and redness on the wall so I am not sure if I can get radiation at this point. The colonscopy was October, 2022 and the infection lasted until August, 2022. I am getting an MRI at the end of January to see what is going on with the cancer and will get a PSA also. I have looked into HIFU to kill the cancer as an alternative to these wonderful treatments. By the way, the gel and the fiducials were inserted June, 2022.

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@brentbackus (sorry, this was meant to be a comment to to OP)
Why not contact the manufacturer of SpaceOar and ask them the same questions? When it looked like I might have to postpone radiation at Mayo after I had the fiducials and SpaceOar inserted I was told that although it takes about 6 months for the SpaceOar to dissapate, its effectiveness is a much shorter time period than that. Also, the cost of the SpaceOar was about $11,500 and that I might have insurance problems having it redone. I wonder if that figures somehow into your doctor's calculations. It sounds like they have already done some damage. Perhaps you might consider a second opinion from a top hospital. Yes, SpaceOar does a lot of marketing. But, there is no question that it helps to protect the rectal wall from radiological burns. And, that can be more of a problem than prostate cancer.

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