Hello K1952,
I've just seen your post and I went through the process you are thinking about.
Given only the choice of surgery or RT, I opted for RT.
I was put on Bicalutamide a month before the RT, which lowered testosterone and gave me very sore breasts. Although the course has finished (it was only 6 weeks) I am still tender, but expect this to abate once all of the chemicals are out of my body. The fiducial markers and spacer were inserted under a general anaesthetic. I was admitted at 7.00am, the operation completed by 10.00am, and was fully conscious by 11.00. I went home about 3.00pm. I had no problems afterwards apart from a slight sore throat because of the breathing tube that is inserted while you're under. I didn't have any other major problems, there was a bit of blood in my stools for a day or two, but no pain.
I then had an MRI about 3 weeks after to plot the path of the RT and to make sure fiducial were still in place. A week later I had the Cyberknife RT, which typically takes place 2- 4 weeks after the insertion procedure. Five sessions is much preferable to the 35+ sessions with the lower beam RT. There is no pain during the process, and I suffered no hair loss, nor sunburn type rash to the pelvic area, just a general sense of tiredness and fatigue. This becomes more noticeable with each session. The 5 sessions were delivered over 2 weeks, though initially scheduled for one week, but I was pretty shattered so they gave me a few days off and I completed the sessions in 10 days, rather than 5. Each session lasts about 20-30 minutes of treatment delivery, but there it takes longer because the robot and the patient needs to be re-adjusted from time to time. Prepare for about an hour and a half.
I had blood in my stools a few days later for a day, but that has gone now. I have lots of flatulence, and bowel movements are loose. I was proscribed Tamsulosin to make it easier to pee, but this is a short term course that makes emptying your bladder much easier. I get up once, often twice during the night, but I have not been caught short anywhere, nor felt I couldn't leave the house because of incontinence. I just pee more often.
I had the treatment done privately and the experience I had was very good. All the personnel involved were women, apart from the anaesthetist and the surgeon who inserted the markers and spacer. They have all been brilliant, charming bedside manners and answered any questions with detailed explanations.
I saw the specialist this week who will do a PSA test after Easter, an MRI in 12 months. I was anxious about the length of time I would have to wait to get the all clear, but she re-assured me that being slim and fit my recovery and defeat of the cancer should proceed without a hitch.
I went private because Cyberknife is not available on the NHS. A PACE trial was underway when I consulted the NHS oncologist in October, I am not sure if it is still running, but it was a blind sample, so I may or may not have received Cyberknife. I opted for it as it was targeted, intense and of short duration.
At the Centre, Macmillan provide 2 free massages for you as well.
As a precaution for what may happen in the future, I went to see the ED specialist. Another woman and good to talk to her about what steps you can take should this happen. The fee, which is significant, is not covered by private insurance. In hindsight I would have spent the fee on another pursuit which may have delivered a more satisfying result. There is plenty of information available online and particularly through Macmillan, so you can save your pennies.
I haven't slept particularly well since the treatment, and even before that, but if you read my posts you will see that other factors are at play.
Let me know if you'd like to know more about my experience.
Pale Rider.