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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for bladder damage

User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 19:23
Has anyone on here tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat the effects of radiation damage to the bladder. I gave a run down on my situation to our local oxygen treatment center and a doctor emailed back and suggested 20 one hour sessions as soon as possible. There are a number of centres around the country and many of them are run as charities. The cost seemed quite reasonable at £20 a session, a bit less than the £300 a session I had seen elsewhere. The NHS do not seem to fund the treatment due to lack of data from trials.

I see my GP on Monday ,a second opinion urologist a week on Monday and the radiotherapy late effects team a week on Tuesday and will of course listen to their advice.

One of the specialist nurses on here also put me in touch with the pelvic radiation disease association but most of the members are female and no men seem to have had damage to the bladder from prostate related RT.

There are some old posts on here but some of the links are no longer valid. Anyone's experiences or knowledge would be gratefully received.

Thanks Chris

User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 22:21
Nothing to add Chris but will be following with great interest

Devonmaid

User
Posted 20 Jan 2018 at 17:24

Chris, if by damage to the bladder from RT you include bladder cancer, then both I and my brother copped this one. I had various treatments before ending up with the radical one. There is no doubt at all that RT has caused damage in some people's bladders. One hopes that with experience over the years and better targeted RT, the incidence will be a lot less. Equally, of course, overspill of radiation can affect the bowel and urethra, making other treatments more risky. I'm quite sure that RT was the right treatment for me by the way. I'd possibly make myself better informed about the RT options, were it to arise nowadays, but ten years ago, there wasn't a choice at my chosen treatment centre. I say this not to put folk off RT, but to urge careful and thorough research of the options, so as to minimise risks.

AC

User
Posted 23 Jan 2018 at 08:14
DM ,AC

Thanks for the reply, I did write a post yesterday but the site came up with access denied an I lost the post.

Radiation cystitis seems to cover anything from a slight stinging to total dysfunction of the bladder or perhaps it should be destruction of the bladder. I had my treatment last year and I was told all the RT machines I would be on were reasonably new and not like the older scatter gun machines that used to be used. Strangely the effect on my urethra has been positive and my flow rate sometimes reaches around 10 mls/sec. Unfortunatly the SPC also increases the chances of getting bladder cancer.

My GP is a very experienced doctor but I was surprised when she said I was the first patient she had ever seen asking about radiation damage to the bladder. A pelvic radiation association gave me the names of two consultants who specialise in pelvic radiation damage and my GP is writing a couple of referrals. I also spoke to a nurse specialist in the oncology department yesterday, see is thinking along the same lines as myself, let's get into the bladder see what is going on check for more clips and possibly take a biopsy. The nurse specialist was not aware of the oxygen treatment and my GP was a little sceptical of the doctor who advised having the oxygen treatment.

My urine was dipped yesterday and it did indicate a possible infection, so the sample has been sent to the lab to be grown / cultured to get the right antibiotics.

Apparently the appointment with the late effects team next week is quite thorough and may be upto and hour long.

Thanks Chris

 
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