LDR Brachytherapy ... Quick Question

Hello Meunier,

I was diagnosed April 2009 Gleason 3 + 3 = 6  and received LDR Brachytherapy treatment October 2010. Within two weeks I was back to playing 18 holes of Golf three days every week and still do to this day. I ride my Mountain Bike three times every week. I am aged 79 years and 4 months and have never been held back by my chosen treatment. I am not claiming to be Super Man but telling you how it is and hopefully can be for you. I had retired from work in 1998 and therefore have no answer to your work related question. Please get back to me with any further questions that you may have. I have been posting on this forum since 2010 as can be deduced from my user name.

Michael S.

I had LDR Brachytherapy almost a year ago ( click my avatar for details ) I did get tired and sometimes I had to go to bed in the afternoon for 2-3 hrs solid sleep. It gets better with time. I am still tired, however I am beginning to think that my fatigue is now caused by something else.

Another thing which may affect you more is how often you need to empty your bladder. Initially I was needing to “go” every twenty minutes. It made the afternoon dog walk really interesting luckily it was in a wood.🤔

My endurance increased quite quickly and I can now last greater than 2 hours. I find now that if I have to go I have to go, there is not much “ holding in “ time😳

Rgds

David

Hi Meunier

I am 62, Gleason 3 + 4, PSA 8.4, and had LDR Brachy three months ago. I did feel a bit tired the week after the procedure, maybe due to the general anaesthetic, but this soon lifted and after a couple of weeks I was pretty much back to normal. I do play golf and stopped that for 4 weeks but I could have restarted earlier with hindsight. I now play golf twice a week and go to the gym twice a week. I don't think you would find it affected your daily dashing about at all after a few days recovery time. 

I had no rectal bleeding, maybe a little looser than normal but nothing worth worrying about. I have been peeing a bit more often, although this is now reducing. On average I am up twice a night, but sometimes I don't wake needing a pee at all, but it varies and other times I might be up three times, but that is a rarity. I have found that peeing urgency is more evident, in that when you need to go you can't wait as long. This hasn't been a practical problem for me though. No ED issues at all, other than almost dry ejaculations.

I have my first scheduled check up with the oncology consultant next week and so am interested to see what my PSA and Testosterone levels are but it may be too soon to expect much.

So far I do not regret having Brachy and would recommend it to those who are interested and qualify.

Best wishes

Tom

PS - I should have added that I didn't need any hormone therapy which I understand can make you tired. 

Edited by member 11 Nov 2023 at 12:59  | Reason: Not specified

Meurnier,

I have been blessed with boundless energy all of my life. Two months ago I played '100 Holes' of continuous Golf to raise funds for our local Hospice. Me and a pal teed off at our Golf Club at 6am and finished at 5.15pm and raised £14,000. Once again I repeat that I am not claiming Super Man status but trying to display what can be done with determination and the reward of effort which has been evident throughout my whole life. There has never been a time when I felt tired due to the treatment of Prostate Cancer. I am certain that you will face the challenge of your stairway with hardly any disruption after the initial recovery period of perhaps 14 days. If the medics are offering LDR Brachytherapy to you GRAB it. Apart from the 2 weeks post treatment I have never been challenged by difficulty with urinating.

I look forward to hearing from you giving details of your treatment path.

Michael S.

Hi again,

Before my procedure ( November 2022 )I went to the toilet once a night. Nothing has changed. I sometimes have problems getting back to sleep however I think that’s due to the general world situation and nothing to do with my treatment. I was on Tamsulosin for three months and after my first check up ( PSA down from 8.6 to 0.8 ) my doctor told me to stop taking it to see what happens😂. Nothing untoward developed so I have been off the medication for 9 months.

For me routine is the key. The gaps between needing to pee is  increasing. Without giving away too much information I must have two bowel movements before I go out at 0800hrs in the morning or I can get caught short.  I now attend an N.H.S circuit training class twice a week and I do Qigong ( tai chi ) twice a week with no problems.

I am still amazed I was only in hospital for one night. I had 57 seed inserted into my prostate Gleason 7 (4+3 ).Over the last three years I have only missed one day where I did not reach my daily 10,000 steps and that was on the day of my procedure. The next day I achieved my target although it was in a much gentler way than normal😂

Some of the things you won’t be able to do is for the first three months: you will not be able to stand close to pregnant women. You will not be able to have young children sit on your lap and pets should not be on your lap either.

You may set off airport/ shop security systems ( I didn’t ) and you can’t get cremated for 18 months 💥

It was suggested that if you are sharing a bed you should put a pillow between you and your partner as everyone knows that duck down or polyester have great radioactive shielding properties😂 My wife said sod that and I was in the spare room for three months!

Hope this helps.

Rgds 

David

Bless you, Michael, Dave and Tom.  You're ALL stars!  TRULY!

I am SO very grateful.  

Cheers, Bruce

Edited by member 11 Nov 2023 at 15:52  | Reason: Not specified

All the best with it.

Tom

Pretty much the same experience for me as highlighted by others. I'm 48 and 6 months post procedure now and although I had some tiredness initially, I definitely wouldn't call it debilitating in the slightest. When I was off work and feeling tired, I napped because I could!

I travelled back to the North West from London on the train the day after my procedure and when I got back, walked the golf course with my son who was playing a comp – no problem with the journey or walking the course. I think I had my own first round a couple of weeks after the procedure albeit I did limit myself to only 9 holes to begin with but I was being very deliberately cautious not to push anything when I didn't need to.

I definitely had more urgency in the first few weeks after the procedure – it was urgency without much end product (reduced flow) but I’m guessing that was all part of the initial inflammation/trauma because it had improved significantly fairly quickly and after probably 6 weeks, I couldn't really tell a difference between pre and post op - provided I remembered to take the Alfuzosin tablets prescribed!

Pre procedure I was up once a night to pee, post procedure still once a night. Perhaps I should give up the tea before turning off my bedside light (definitely not giving up the wine though!)

As far as sexual function goes, the only obviously noticeable side effect is the mostly dry orgasms although that doesn’t diminish the pleasure. ED is none existent (less than non existent really as although I had no complaints before the procedure, the minimal dose of Tadalafil I now take 3 times a week makes me feel like a teenager again!)

Certainly from my own experience, the side effects of Brachy have been virtually non-existent but it’s important to recognise that Brachy isn’t suitable for everyone and even if it’s available where you’re being treated, staging, prostate size, erectile function, IPSS score/urinary performance will all contribute to determine whether it’s appropriate/offered or not.

I'm unsure of your current status with your Gleason score and PSA count. I haven't started my treatment yet after being diagnosed with GS 4+4 and PSA 8.1. No Mets.

After extensive research, I am going to start a 6 month HT next month and then in June 2024, I'll be having 20 doses of IMRT and HDR Brachy Boost (BBT). From what I have seen online and from other people's experience, HDR Brachy has fewer long-term side effects than LDR. Couple this with the latest Barrier Gel (not the older SpaceOAR which had shortcomings) - to prevent the rectal issues and hopefully this plan will succeed. The idea of having 6 months HT in advance of RT / BBT is to hopefully stop the PCa from growing and perhaps even shrink it a little and again the evidence suggests that a weaker PCa cell gives the RT / BBT treatment a better chance of working. My RO has said that the HT will need to continue for at least another 3 - 6 months after the RT / BBT treatment ends.

Also, my RO is happy about this plan, which gives me some encouragement. 

Don't forget I'm dealing with a GS8 which is obviously more serious than a 6 or 7. 

All the best with your decision-making. It can be a very daunting experience.