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User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 09:20
2years post op after rp just recieved an appointment date for salvage rt to the prostate bed having major doubts about going ahead after reading other peoples experiences with after effects desperate for advice and views of you people outthere who have been though it ! Would you all do it again if you knew the outcome! Please help
User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 18:35
I don't think there is a simple answer to this as it depends on how you look at things.

My thoughts were that there was a possibility of a 'cure' if I had the SRT and I was well aware of the possible side effects and I thought that I could handle that. As it turned out the SRT experience was OK but 12 months after finishing SRT my PSA is higher than when I started. I have now started HT and will get my PSA results tomorrow following my first 3 months on Prostap. Do I regret going through SRT ? Absolutely not. I may not have gained anything but I might have done. I am happy and getting on with life today. As for the future - we'll see but at least I've tried.

We can all only call the shots as we see them and then deal with the consequences.

All the best

Kevan

User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 21:43
my husband finished rt on friday and had side effects from second shot but he doesn't regret it at all as its his chance to live his life.

not suitable for surgery it was all that was on offer.

there is risks with everything in life.

make the right choice for you and then go ahead with it positively.

wishing you good days to come

lyn x

The only thing you know is you never know,so,keep trying
User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 22:04

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
My husband had adjuvant radiotherapy after his prostatectomy and he coped well. It gave him five good years , a bit of breathing space until he was put on hormone therapy.

 

Similar outcome - it looks like it has only lasted 5 years for John but who knows what situation we would be in now if he hadn't gone for the salvage RT :-)  

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 03 Jul 2017 at 14:15
Hi Charlie, I am now 23 months post laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. My PSA started increasing rapidly last September. After a bit of to and fro with the oncologist initially unwilling to do salvage radiotherapy we agreed between us and my wife that it would be worth going ahead. I finished 55 Grays of SRT at the end of April. I was told it had around a 40% chance of success but like Kevan I was keen to have what is most likely a last go at a curative attempt. Side effects have been manageable so far, in fact despite it being exhausting I sailed through the process of SRT. My oncologist is still convinced I have spread but for now there is no evidence of that. Only time will tell. Hopefully it has cured it but if not it will have given me more time, I think. I am on HT for another two years and last PSA on 2nd May was <0.1 for the first time since June 2016. Like Kevan, I try not to have any regrets, we make these decisions armed with the information available at the time and do the best we can. I hope all the answers you have had to your post are of some help but only you can make the final decision, sorry if that sounds harsh, it isn't meant to be. Wishing you all the best, Ian.

Ido4

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User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 13:07
Charlie

I am three years post RARP and completed SRT a month ago. Simple question, what other choices/ treatments are on offer ?

Thanks Chris

User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 13:14

I think you have to ask the question of how aggressive your cancer is , the psa doubling time , whether lymphs were involved etc. What are your genuine chances of cure ??
I have just turned 50 but have rejected RT for the third time. I'm big on quality of life , and whilst many men seem to breeze through it with no problems , I'm not prepared to risk the side-effects given that my chance of cure was estimated at less than 18%. If you click my picture you can read my profile.
Best wishes

User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 18:35
I don't think there is a simple answer to this as it depends on how you look at things.

My thoughts were that there was a possibility of a 'cure' if I had the SRT and I was well aware of the possible side effects and I thought that I could handle that. As it turned out the SRT experience was OK but 12 months after finishing SRT my PSA is higher than when I started. I have now started HT and will get my PSA results tomorrow following my first 3 months on Prostap. Do I regret going through SRT ? Absolutely not. I may not have gained anything but I might have done. I am happy and getting on with life today. As for the future - we'll see but at least I've tried.

We can all only call the shots as we see them and then deal with the consequences.

All the best

Kevan

User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 19:44

John breezed through salvage RT and 5 years on still has no significant side effects. He didn't even take a day off work. Hated the HT though and stopped that after 9 months rather than the 2 years he was supposed to have.

Edited by member 02 Jul 2017 at 22:02  | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 20:09
My husband had adjuvant radiotherapy after his prostatectomy and he coped well. It gave him five good years , a bit of breathing space until he was put on hormone therapy.
User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 21:43
my husband finished rt on friday and had side effects from second shot but he doesn't regret it at all as its his chance to live his life.

not suitable for surgery it was all that was on offer.

there is risks with everything in life.

make the right choice for you and then go ahead with it positively.

wishing you good days to come

lyn x

The only thing you know is you never know,so,keep trying
User
Posted 02 Jul 2017 at 22:04

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
My husband had adjuvant radiotherapy after his prostatectomy and he coped well. It gave him five good years , a bit of breathing space until he was put on hormone therapy.

 

Similar outcome - it looks like it has only lasted 5 years for John but who knows what situation we would be in now if he hadn't gone for the salvage RT :-)  

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 03 Jul 2017 at 14:15
Hi Charlie, I am now 23 months post laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. My PSA started increasing rapidly last September. After a bit of to and fro with the oncologist initially unwilling to do salvage radiotherapy we agreed between us and my wife that it would be worth going ahead. I finished 55 Grays of SRT at the end of April. I was told it had around a 40% chance of success but like Kevan I was keen to have what is most likely a last go at a curative attempt. Side effects have been manageable so far, in fact despite it being exhausting I sailed through the process of SRT. My oncologist is still convinced I have spread but for now there is no evidence of that. Only time will tell. Hopefully it has cured it but if not it will have given me more time, I think. I am on HT for another two years and last PSA on 2nd May was <0.1 for the first time since June 2016. Like Kevan, I try not to have any regrets, we make these decisions armed with the information available at the time and do the best we can. I hope all the answers you have had to your post are of some help but only you can make the final decision, sorry if that sounds harsh, it isn't meant to be. Wishing you all the best, Ian.

Ido4

User
Posted 03 Jul 2017 at 19:52
Hi Charlie

Just to add a bit of a postscript to my previous reply.

Saw the Oncologist this afternoon and was amazed to be told that after being on Prostap for just 3 months my PSA is undetectable. Now,I am only 12 months post SRT so that could still be having an effect as well and I am well aware that it could start rising again but she said she doesn't want to see me for 6 months.

I only say this to make the point that in my book you just don't know what lies around the corner but if you don't have a look you'll never know.

All the best with your decision.

Kevan

User
Posted 07 Jul 2017 at 20:24
Thanks to every one on here who replied to my post it means alot ! Got appointment this monday 10\7 for marking up for rt will keep you posted ! Good luck all !!

User
Posted 09 Jul 2017 at 09:52
Charlie

I found the treatment simple and straightforward, but the routine got a bit tedious towards the end of the 33 sessions. I only live about 5 miles from the hospital so the round trip was not too long. Listen to what you are told, especially about food and fluids and it should be a breeze, my staff were all great and I met some lovely people in the waiting rooms. Six weeks since the last treatment and the bowel is 99 percent back to normal, just a very slight bit of mucous.

Our Hospitial had a dedicated car park for the RT department and gave us a free car park pass for the duration of the treatment.

Thanks Chris

 
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