Finished 28 Proton Therapies

@marlow2
This is standard procedure at UFPTI. When you do simulation (this procedure sets up a specialized bed for each patient and the parameters techs will use during actual treatments) e there they have you drink water 30 minutes prior to procedure. Then do low dose xray to monitor your bladder position with water and adjust drinking more up or down.

This is done to help move bladder away from prostrate and lesson the amount of radiation that bladder receives. They also look at Space/Oar to see it has moved the rectum down and away. If not they will use a baloon to do that before procedures.

Everyone is different and how they absorb water and time needed to do it, along with size of bladder ect. My plan revealed I needed to drink 12 oz of water 30 minutes prior to treatments.

Thus I would urinate prior to drinking the water and after treatment urinate again regardless of urged to do so as had a 45 minute drive home. This work out for me without any issues with urnination urges from drinking all the water and the increases in urnination and urges when doing radiation treatments.

I did the five treatments at Mayo. They have you empty your bladder then drink a bottle of water before your treatment. With the five treatments you also get a rectal balloon to keep your prostate from moving while under the beam. After the first treatment and I knew what was going to happen I always asked the technicians "Ok which one of you drew the short straw today"? Holding a full bladder was the hardest part but five treatments was a piece of cake. I felt guilty ringing the bell. My 3 month and 9 month PSA's were undetectable. Good luck Jim.

it is extremely important to fill up your bladder before you lay down on the table for pro beam therapy you need to respect the Hydro gel spacer that's giving you ultimate protection.
The technicians before they start the radiation should always look at your bladder and of course your colon to make sure nothing is in the way of the beam for efficiency and your bladder is protected with a lot of water in the capacity. get to know your technicians this is very important

Jim volunteered to do a trial where they fill up his bladder before doing the proton beam treatment. He'll probably have to go before, during and after.

Yes you can drive. I had 30 rounds of proton radiation at UFPTI. The treatments are painless and do not affect you driving.

You may at some time in your treatments have to go to bathroom more. You can plan on this and go to bathroom when leaving treatment office. I have heard this question and so must be a concern for many.

Treatments are painless. You will have no idea you are receiving radiation treatments. Just realize that after several you may have to urninate more ofter and more ugently. Thus my solution was to urinate upon arrival and before leaving. Your oncologist/radiologist and urolgist should have briefed on the ability to drive is not affected. Good and realize millions have gone through this.

My husband met with the surgeon this morning at Mayo Clinic. He reviewed his biopsy and said that his prostate was large and did not recommend RP but radiation. We have the radiation appointment this coming Thursday. This is a whole different direction than we thought would happen. We live in AZ and he is interested in the Proton Beam Therapy. After therapy, were you able to drive yourself?

My proton beam radiation treatments were done at the University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy Center. Just a 40-minute drive from my home, it was very convenient.

May I ask where your proton treatments occurred?

this is very normal and my suggestion to you is to use a skin moisturizer as I have been doing since I received my 28 proton beam therapies and it is finally fading away After four months.

@gently
Yes I did get what they called a sunburn type of burn on each hip. I was told this would occur as the is where the proton beam enters body. Even though the proton beam releases it's energy where it is programmed some radiation does occur when entering body.

I did not notice it until one day my wife said she could see the sunburn on both sides of my hip. It got more pronounce over time. Then when treatments ended it turned into a tan color. I still had it months after treatment ended and asked my oncologist/radiologist about it.

He said completely normal reaction of skin and would slowly fade each month after treatments. And it did. It did not hurt or bother me so I did not mention it as a side affect.