Starting Proton Treatments for Prostate Cancer: Any experiences?

@waynen what kind of prescription for urination pain? Mine is pretty bad and they thought I had UTI gave me antibiotics but the culture showed no infection? Is Flow Max the RX. Tried AZO but not much help.

@mhordes It was called Flo Max. I don't know if it has another name. It worked well for me. Good look.

@mhordes Did you have radiation therapy? The urethra gets hit by the radiation and will irritate the part going through the prostrate and the flo max will help the flow without the irritation. That could be where the problem is.

@waynen yes radiation therapy

Proton radiation therapy in 2010 at Loma Linda Hospital. Two and one-half months (2.5 months) or morning proton radiation therapy, Gleason 3 plus 3, localized PC; PSA 6.47.

Longer-term sessions with reduced proton radiation minimize any issue(s) with tissue. Ask your doctor, and they will validate this fact. The intensity of the radiation and the length of time of radiation are subjective decisions made by your doctor. Keep in mind, the shorter the time, the more the hospital can accommodate others and increase income. I had TriCare for Life and the bill was over $125,000 not including housing, meals, etc, which was my responsibility. In closing, I would estimate that meeting others in the morning prior to the radiation, half or more of the patients were physicians with various levels of prostate cancer.

Just finished 5 fractions of Proton Therapy on Sept 19th. Mainly urgency of going. Some pain with urination, but minor enough to ignore. I had Gleason 4+4 so it was a stretch. I had a choice of 20+ fractions but it was 2 hours away and I wanted to get it over with. So far, a little fatigue (partly from the ADT) partly from the procedure. I think you make a good choice.

@robertov where did you get it and was there a need to use a spacer between prostate and rectum?

@westernflyer you know that a Gleason 6 does not require treatment. Just wondering if they informed you that active surveillance is an option.

I am 77 my Gleason score was 8 (4+4) Pet scan was negative and just completed 28 IMRT radiation treatments and am taking Orgovyx now and Doctor want me to take for two years. To help me get through the Radiation Therapy I had to drink 80 oz of water daily and do weight resistance training daily. To help with all the water consumption I added True citrus lime which is available on Amazon. Good luck on you path forward

@imbimbo I had two (2) biopsies, and both validated the case for low growth prostate cancer.
Remember, the Gleason score is subjective and depends upon the interpretation of the cells by a pathologist, as such an opinion.

I had TricCare for Life, so the cost was zero, although the bill was over $125,000 total. Of course housing for 2.5 months plus rental care and such made the experience a long one.

rh/florida