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

My husband was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. We saw the surgeon this morning at Mayo in AZ and he went over the biopsy. Of course, my husband was thinking of having RP. The surgeon said that he has a large prostate and more than likely they would have to sever the nerves that control the urine and he would have erectile disfunction. My husband is 73 and in good health other than the prostate cancer. The surgeon recommended radiation. We have an appointment at Mayo on Thursday. I'm glad you asked this question about driving. I am visually impaired and don't drive so listening to many of your replies, it gave me a little encouragement that he will be able to drive. I'm not sure what kind of radiation or hormone therapy will be discussed. He is in the middle of shingles and in a lot of pain. He has some big decisions to make very soon.

I'm glad I asked the question too. Your poor husband, wow, he is going through a lot and so are you. From everything I've looked at so far, I am leaning towards SBRT - Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. This is the form of radiation that only requires around 5 sessions, but I guess it takes more like 7 to 10 days in total to include evaluation, prep, etc. There are different ways to deliver the SBRT. They can put metal markers in the prostate then use CT scanning but that means they have to insert the markers into the prostate. They can also use MRI guided SBRT with no need for markers. With the MRI guided, if the prostate shifts while the radiation is being administered, the beam shuts off. Side effects appear to be as good or better than the other means of beamed radiation known as Conventional Fractionation (8-9 weeks) or Moderate Hypofractionation (4.5-5 weeks).
So, I am going to look into the MRI guided SBRT. One brand name is MRIdian. These are expensive machines and only a few locations have them. One is UCLA. I fear my biggest obstacle is going to be insurance. I have a medicare advantage plan. If you haven't already done so, watch this video, it's very informative. https://youtu.be/ZpK3JhVUNDk?si=ir7ceyV8eqHJU3jj

I also watched a video of the surgical procedure, it looks very complex and unless that's my only option, I'm not doing it.
Best of luck and keep us updated

Awesome! I still have so many questions. Was yours done with MRI or CT or something else?

So, I just discovered that Viewray, the company that made the MRIdian MRI SBRT Machine, has gone out if business. This is really unfortunate. I hope the facilities that purchased these state of the art machines, will be able to continue using them.
I guess they were just too expensive to produce. I don't believe there are any equivalent machines out there. I hope I'm wrong.

I believe the Varian Halcyon is a MRI LINAC machine.

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

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.

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.

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: 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.