1. < Prostate Cancer
Profile picture for desertrat

Starting Proton Treatments for Prostate Cancer: Any experiences?

Posted by desertrat @desertrat, Feb 5, 2022

I am 69, just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, Gleason score of 3 + 4, PSA is 4.2. I have opted to do 28 treatments of proton radiation only. I would appreciate hearing from others who have been through this and how it worked out for you. Thanks in advance!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Profile picture for robertov
robertov | @robertov | 14 hours ago
In reply to @imbimbo "@robertov where did you get it and was there a need to use a spacer between..." + (show)
Profile picture for imbimbo @imbimbo

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

Jump to this post

@imbimbo Yes. That should always be done to protect from long-term rectal issues. Makes something like that very low probability. No matter what they say, always do it.

REPLY
Profile picture for stevesien
stevesien | @stevesien | 5 hours ago
In reply to @westernflyer "Proton radiation therapy in 2010 at Loma Linda Hospital. Two and one-half months (2.5 months) or..." + (show)
Profile picture for westernflyer @westernflyer

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.

Jump to this post

@westernflyer I also had proton radiation in 2010. Tsukuba university hospital in Tokyo. It was also 39 treatments and I happen to know the same machine as Loma Linda. It was not covered by insurance. Total cost was about $25,000.
I also did 1 1/2 years of ADT. For the last 15 years, my PSA has remained around .2. I recently had something show up on my spine. Which was possibly recurring cancer but a newer PET scan machine says it is not active. Does not seem to be cancerous. With my PSA being so low for 15 years all of the AI Chatbots and my Dr concur the chance of my cancer recurring is about 1%. And I was initially a Gleason seven and eight and T3 ANOMO.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.