Questions about radiation for prostate cancer: Can I drive myself?

Husband will be having brachytherapy next week, to be followed by about 25 sessions of external radiation. Gleason 3 + 4.

ASK ABOUT PROTON RADIATION THEREAPY. THE OLDEST AND RESPECTED FACILITY IS LOCATED AT LOMA LINDA HOSPITAL IN LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA NEAR RIVERSIDE.

EXPLORE ALL THE OPTIONS..GET 2ND AND 3RD OPINIONS

Thank you!

Hoag, City of Hope Irvine UCLA's has a broken gantry.

ava11, I've searched the scorched earth for the remaining MRgRT Mridian Viewray. UCLA's is not working. Hoag has one. City of Hope Irvine has one. Kishan is so impressive on the video. In consult too. He says he can get close to what the Mridian does with the recent advances in equipment.

Paulcalif: I just read your additional response. If I had a biological reoccurrence, I would fly to California, or wherever that machine was, and use it again. Success of other treatments, notwithstanding, I looked at many alternatives out there.

The Mridian machine is the only machine with a built-in MRI. The Mirage randomized trial showed many of its benefits. The machine allowed for five hypo fractional treatments with 2 mm margins. Other forms of radiation are still using 3 to 5 mm. That is a BIG deal for protecting healthy tissue. The machine allowed for dynamic planning. If your your prostate moved, they could remap you in real time because of the MRI. There were usually three people providing treatment, the radiation, oncologist, a physicist, and a dosimitrist. Other machines had fewer people. No surprise I guess I’m a fan.

I believe UCLA has a MRIdian, and maybe Hoag hospital. I read that UCI (Irvine), was planning on purchasing one, not sure they ever got it. I wish the only thing I had to do was research this stuff but as everyone knows, life gets in the way.

Paulcalif: Viewray went bankrupt not because of their machines costing too much but as I heard, mismanagement of sales revenue. In any case, there are some hospitals that are still using them. I heard a California hospital was one but am not sure. Orlando Health Cancer center, where I was treated, has temporarily stopped using it to treat but has an engineer maintaining it. As a radiation machine choice it had a lot of benefits. Many hope it will be revived.

Something I rarely see here is opting for Brachy Therapy instead of radiation. This is a process where small radioactive buds, (think grain of rice), are surgically implanted into the prostate gland. No trips to a radiation lab required.

I thought Halcyon used CT? Hard to figure out with all of the acronyms used to describe these machines.
Example: Halcyon 2.0 features kV cone-beam CT (CBCT) and Iterative CBCT imaging for better soft tissue definition.
I just want to give up and go back to bed, LOL