Since having RALP in August 2015 my PSA readings suggested that further salvage treatment was needed and so we decided to go with RT. Although I am an optimist and pretty pragmatic I was apprehensive about the whole treatment process and so came back to this site to get more information from the experience of others. Armed with this information plus more from the medical team I made my plans. Trusty rucksack with incontinence pads to contain both bladder or bowel emergencies;spare pants,spare trousers;wet wipes;antiseptic gel; disposable bags;enemas supplied by hospital;lubricant for enema tubes and Sudacrem. The rucksack was actually quite small. Although the hospital supplied a free parking ticket,parking spaces were limited and I was warned it could take an hour to find an available space.I decided to drive a little bit further to the Park and Ride where there was a bus every 20mins to the hospital and it was only a 12min bus ride. Parking was £2 for 11 hours and I have my Concessionary bus pass.There are also toilets at the Park and Ride site as well as a refreshment bar.This also left Hospital parking spaces for those whose need was greater than mine. Had sussed out toilet opportunities along the 47 miles to the Park and ride site.First day of RT travel arrangements all good and arrived at hospital 90 minutes before appointment.Take out instructions from Hospital.One hour before appointment, drink 2 cups of water and then after about 10 minster go to the toilet and insert enema to empty lower bowel.Now I have to admit that carrying out the act was not a problem but this can entail the emission of some rather unpleasant sound effects and when the toilets are located close to the waiting room and the reception area I did find this and tad embarrassing. I know that thereverything were many of us in the same boat but I took no comfort from this answers scoured the hospital for a more remote location. I found one and never whispered a word about it to anyone. Every day it was empty when I arrived - bliss.Having dutifully evacuated the lower bowel it was back to reception to check the traffic light system to see if my machine was running on time.If it was then sit and chat to new friends until 30mins before appointment,then use the barcoded card I had been given to check in on the computer system. Confirm the details shown of name,time and machine number. Stroll down to the waiting area for my machire and drink 4 cups of water in quick succession to fill the bladder.My bladder and I are on good speaking terms since RALP so I quickly learned that this part is the trickiest with RT.A full bladder means less risk of it being damaged but being in pain from a full bladder when trying to lie motionless for 5mins during treatment is not a good mix. If the bladder is uncomfortable tell the radiograther before you are due and they will advise you what to do.You soon learn how quickly your bladder fills and learn to adjust the timing of your intake. One of the team come and fetch you,introductions done, walk on through, shoes off, trousers off hop onto the bed. Name and date of birth, describe what part of your anatomy you are expecting us to treat.All confirmed and agreed.Ask them about psoriasis on my back and show the medictionary I use.Confirm the OK to continue using it. Shirt up,pants readjusted so they are not in the waye of machine.Main lights turned out so that they can line up green laser with tattoos and then two of the team peering intently at this area and rattling of numbers which are being confirmed by a third member of the team. You feel the bed adjusting by millimetres. The main lights come back on and someone says that we will leave you now but if you need us we are watching so just raise you hand. You lie motionless as bits of equipment slowly move around you and then stop. You hear a bleeping which continued for about 23 seconds and then stopped. The machine repositioned, another 25 seconds of bleeping and then stopped.It did this 5 times in total after which one of the team appeared and confirmed that was it for today. Off the bed, trousers on, shoes on, thanks very much see you tomorrow.Walk cross legged to toilet, empty bladder,say cheerio to new found friends in waiting room, catch bus, get car and drive 47 miles back home. As the days progressed I was waiting for the side effects of bladder and bowel problems to cause me problems while driving to and from the hospital but in my case it never happened. I had a wee before leaving home,an hour and ten minutes later at the Park and ride and at the hospitalk and in the reverse order on the way home. During the last 10 days of treatment I had diarrhoea about an hour after eating an evening meal on 5 occasions but was fine the following morning having then eaten 2 digestive biscuits and a piece of dry toast. I kept well hydrated and did not have to get up in the night at all.There were a couple of days when the bottom started to feel a bit sore but a dollop of Sudacrem stopped that in its tracks. Psoriasis is as smooth as a babies bump. After 6 weeks I was tired when I got home but was able to sleep well at night so was OK to carry on again the next morning.
I completed my treatment last Thursday and I got away with no problems thanks to all of the advice I picked up from reading different snippets of posts from you good folk on this site. Knowing that I was prepared for the myriad problems that some of you guys encountered helped me to avoid them so thanks so much.I realise that this is only my experience but I hope that it might offer some reassurance to others who are as apprehensive about their forthcoming salvage RT as I was.
All the best to everyone
Kevan