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Diagnosed with prostate cancer, where to go now in this moment?
Hello , All new to this I was diagnosed prostate cancer a few months ago after having a PSA test at 20.1 3 yrs before that PSA 4.5 in 2023. what a shock was that never in my family's history was no prostate cancer. I went through an MRI which didn't show much then came outpatient surgery for biopsy that came back 6 spots on my prostate. Gleason score 3+4=7 . Had to get after that an PET test to see if the cancer spread outside my prostate but no it didn't. My Urologist had two options for me Radiation or Surgery and at this time I find myself in a bind. Any advice ?
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@heavyphil I am taking Cetirizine which in my head seems to be helping but the itching is not gone from everywhere. This is what I found out that is most closely tied to my symptoms. Radiation can cause a type of chronic, widespread itching known as neuropathic itch, which happens when nerve fibers are irritated or damaged rather than the skin itself.
When you received your prostate radiation treatments, the powerful energy beams had to pass through the pelvic floor and surrounding tissues. Even though radiation oncologists target the prostate as precisely as possible, healthy tissues—including the complex web of nerves in the pelvic region—absorb some of that energy.
Here is how that can translate into full-body or widespread itching:
• Disrupted Nerve Signaling: Radiation can injure or cause localized scarring (fibrosis) around microscopic nerve fibers. If the nerves that normally transmit sensory signals are damaged, they can start misfiring. Instead of sending a signal that says "pain" or "touch," they continuously fire a phantom signal that your brain interprets as a deep, unyielding itch.
• The Pelvic-Systemic Connection (Cross-Sensitization): The nerves in your pelvis share pathways and "switchboards" in your spinal cord with nerves that travel to other parts of your body. When nerves in the pelvic floor are chronically irritated, it can trigger a state called central sensitization. Essentially, the central nervous system becomes hyper-reactive, turning quiet nerve pathways throughout your entire body into an active, generalized itchy or crawling sensation.
• Neuropathic vs. Dermatological Itch: This explains why standard allergy medications (like antihistamines) or standard lotions don't work for you. A regular itch comes from histamines in the skin; a neuropathic itch comes from a misfiring nervous system.