Starting Proton Treatments for Prostate Cancer: Any experiences?

I am a 69 years old Black American male. I completed proton beam therapy for prostrate cancer last October with 5 treatments. The whole processes/procedures went very well. Thank God! My follow-up test indicated my PSA dropped from almost 10 to 2.1 something last March. Be encouraged and I pray you will have good and lasting results.

We all love good news in this sea of just not knowing sometimes, hope all keeps going the right direction, thanks revj

Proton Pencil Beam radiation treatment for 3+4 (7) score. Mine was 30 rounds of radiation over 6 weeks. Had Space/Oar done which really helped with treatment time. PET scan negative, and bone scan negative. Side affects were minimal and no treatment was needed.

Have first PSA test after treatment finish (July 5th) on September 22nd. Then first after treatment with radiologist/oncologist on October 4th. There is a lot of good research out there on benefits of proton radiation versus photon.

If you have symptoms or question don't hesitate to asked your radiologist/oncologist. Good luck!

You are welcome! Any time.

Completed Proton treatment end of May and also had one Lupron injection
I'm 76 and fit for my age.
Symptoms after treatment.
Bowel distress - frequent urges and discomfort lasted about 3 months.
Fatigue particularly around month 2 and 3.
Lupron side effects.
Suppressed libido
Some loss of muscle mass
Hot flashes. These were daily and not very distressing.
Mo mood issues however I did start a low dose of Lexapro.
I feel pretty good now, Libido returning, bowel issues ending.
Never had issues with urination.
Overall pleased with the course of treatment.
Will have PSA and follow up in November.
Good luck. If you have any post treatment concerns follow up with your treatment team right away. Also, Prostate Cancer Research Institute has lots of good videos on YouTube.
Great resource
Good luck

Interesting how you can separate the Proton treatment side effects from the Lupron side effects, especially the fatigue.

Appreciate each of you sharing your experiences with Proton treatment for prostrate cancer. I am 76 years young & have been active monitoring my prostrate cancer since 2018. My PSA has slowly been increasing from 4 to 7, to 11, etc and now is 23.2. Also have one Gleason score of 4 + 4 = 8. I have the option of proton therapy or radiation therapy. From what I’ve read the proton therapy is better with less side effects. Would appreciate hearing from those that have been treated with proton beam therapy & those who have been treated with radiation- thanks

I had 21 sessions earlier this year. During treatment I had quite intense pain when urinating but flomax alleviated that. Because there was pain, I didn’t drink enough water and as a result got constipated. Never been constipated before. Quite unpleasant.

If you can get in for the five session protocol , I strongly recommend.

Everyone is different but in my case once treatment was finished all side effects were gone in week. Urine flow now much, much stronger than before and was not expecting that. Erections still happening but if I had to judge, keeping them is probably not quite as good as before.

Thank you for your comments. Curious how you are doing after your MRIdian procedure and where did you go it? Still happy with it?
Thanks.

@ftd3: I did my mridian treatment at the Orlando Health Cancer center with Dr. Christopherson. She got her training at MD Andersen. I have had 3 psa tests since my treatment. Each was down. Went from 10.2 to 1.4. Very happy with my choice. No negative changes to urination. Ejaculation has changed but not a real issue. No pain. Normal activities for me.