Why no radiotherapy?

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User

Posted 15 Jul 2018 at 23:38

hi everyone,

Just a query, radiotherapy was never discussed with my dad and his treatment options. He's doing well at the minute with psa down from 260 to 11 after two decapeptyl injections. He isn't in any pain. I had just read that this treatment can slow the growth and wondered why it wasn't discussed as an option? Will he be a candidate for this in the future or is it something he will never be able to receive?

Thanks

Miffy

User

Posted 16 Jul 2018 at 02:05

Because he already had some spread to his bones - RT is given as a curative treatment to men diagnosed early, or as a salvage treatment to mop up any left-behind bits after surgery.

The other time that RT is used (but in quite a different way - only one or two short blasts rather than 4 or 7 weeks) is to reduce pain from specific bone mets but fortunately, your dad doesn't seem to need that at this stage :-)

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

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