Has anyone used SpaceOAR gel?

User

Posted 26 May 2019 at 14:56

You'll get there, Jonathan. Just take it a day at a time and before you know it it'll be over and done with.

Very best wishes,

Chris

User

Posted 26 May 2019 at 16:57

hi.

my brother in Australia had space oar.

I had da.vinci he had RT.

see my profile.

... brother. from my profile

Feb 17 Gold seeds and Space OAR early May 17 RT simulation / practice 'run'

Diet plan and fitness program

Single Lucrin® (leuprorelin acetate) injection

He's 70 and no side effects he has reported, very fit and well. In Australia he attends a pre-treatment health, diet and fitness group weekly.

May 2019.

he modified his diet during RT however had no diarhoea or urgency

he would recommend it obviously.

regards

Gordon

User

Posted 26 May 2019 at 17:03

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Quick update. One month today since SpaceOAR insertion. All discomfort gone.
Revelation: cranberry juice!
I still had some small discomfort remaining when I went to pee. Radiologist suggested “try drinking cranberry juice”. Either I am the most suggestible guy ever, or lucky timing, or, Cranberry Juice is magic! Drank a 250ml glass of said magic fluid with my dinner last night. Yes, it is a bit diuretic! But this morning, no discomfort! Hoorah. Seems unbelievable. Only time will tell.
Off for my 12th “fraction” today.

the lady who removed my catheter stated. don't consider taking cranberry juice. .

it's acidic and will irritate the bladder.

so I took her advice. I've not touched it since.

I've cut down on caffeine also.

I was dry after 1 day and bladder control has been better than I could ever had expected.

all the best

User

Posted 26 May 2019 at 17:48

You had RP, though, Rob, not RT. The radiology team at the hospital where I had my RT recommended cranberry juice and it worked wonders for me.

Cheers,

Chris

User

Posted 27 May 2019 at 16:44

Hey everyone, like all of you I got 'the news' awhile back and fortunately, it's pretty contained so the prognosis is very good. I'll be starting RT in another week and it's interesting to read some of the side effects I'll be experiencing. I saw this topic and had to respond.

When I was diagnosed, they said I'd have the OAR procedure done. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. They schedule you for the procedures. It's standard practice for this group over here and as painful as the procedure was, albeit quick, I'm glad they do it. Anything that will help mitigate the effects of the RT are fine by me.

The biopsy was more painful and I had more issues than with the OAR. I didn't have infections with either procedure but the OAR seems to have lingered a bit. I had it done two weeks ago and rode my bike yesterday. While not 'painful' the prostate/injection site did remind me that this might not be the time for long bike rides so, sadly, I guess my season is over.

I'll be checking in as the RT progresses but good luck y'all and keep the brown side down....

User

Posted 27 May 2019 at 17:15

Best of luck for your treatment. As you may have seen from my treatment thread, I got through it with relatively few side-effects. I hope it goes equally well for you.

Best wishes,

Chris

User

Posted 22 Sep 2019 at 15:29

Had my three month follow up with the onco last week. The all important PSA number is now 0.25, down again from the previous 0.6.

No symptoms or side effects remaining to speak of. The breast tenderness has gone, the libido has re-surfaced. Some slight ED, but I suspect more psychological than physical, the fella does stand to attention but only when he wants to if you get my drift. The little blue pills are able to work their magic and provide confidence when required however. Next visit to onco and another PSA in December.

User

Posted 23 Sep 2019 at 23:52

I asked in a consultation with UCLH whether Space Oar might be suitable with HIFU. I was told it had been tried but that it was blown through, so not effective for this form of treatment.

Barry

User

Posted 23 Oct 2019 at 16:40

I have just been diagnosed and was recommended to take RT. I asked my oncologist about the rectal spacer (being aware that this is routine in Australia) and he said it could only be provided privately and cost c£5,000. He said it wasn't worth it! However, this article:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2019/05/nhs-funds-tech-to-protect-prostate-cancer-patients-during-radiation-treatment/

indicates that it is being rolled out in the NHS so I am going back to push for it, given that my rating is only mildly aggressive, so hopefully I can wait a bit.

User

Posted 23 Oct 2019 at 18:04

Hello,

I am enquiring for my father who's been diagnosed with prostate cancer in May this year.

I too am looking at the SpacerOAR gel and saw the NHS trialling it with some patients in certain hospitals. It was the consultant at my fathers first Ohs appointment that mentioned the SpacerOAr gel as he treats NHS and private patients,

We have no private medical cover and he has been offered regular RT treatment at a NHS hospital in England. I enquired whether I could get the spacer gel privately then continue with the RT treatment on NHS (as both RT treatment regimes are same private or NHS ) but the consultant who told us about the spacer gel informed the staff at that NHS hospital are not trained as RT in spacer gel requires MRI scan and CT at each session? He said either we go fully private at somewhere like Genesis.

I then enquired at another NHS hospital who said they do treat patients with RT after they've had spaceOAR gel inserted privately , but they don't do an MRI scan each time just a CT scan. The gel insertion itself done privately is about £4000.

Can anyone with any experience of NHS hospitals or Private Hospitals who's had this gel in UK regards this treatment share any experiences? Does it offer significant benefits compared to no gel? Any research papers or links following both cases? Thank you in advance.

Edited by member 23 Oct 2019 at 23:27 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 17 Nov 2019 at 20:05

I was diagnosed with PC in Feb 2019 with a Gleason score of 3+4 and 4+3 so 7. My understanding is that this is one above monitor only. My London-based specialist was quite visibly and verbally annoyed when I declined the scalpel. This hospital was listed as one of the world’s top 100 in The Times recently.

I progressed with Prostat injections, but part way through became aware of SpaceOAR and the benefits described in the NICE report. My specialist agreed he would seek to have the procedure in my situation but it was not available at this London teaching hospital. I have now had my 6th Prostat injection, which should be the last before RT, but I am still awaiting referral to a different London hospital for consideration of the hydrogel under NHS.

Given the benefits reported by NICE and the comments here (thank you), I am very upset that a so-called ‘top 100 world hospital’ has senior clinicians that are so dismissive of SpaceOAR. Surgeons like using the scalpel!

Hopefully, I will get a new referral soon as the first hospital has now ‘taken me off the system’. My advice gents (and ladies carers) is be firm and insist on the best treatment available.

Good luck and best wishes.

User

Posted 17 Nov 2019 at 20:14

Surgery does tend to be the preferred option for younger men with clearly contained prostate cancer, due to the long-term increased (although small) risk of secondary cancers that can result from RT.

There aren't many places in the UK who currently do the SpaceOAR treatment. As you may have read in this thread, although I had my treatment privately and my insurance company agreed to fund the procedure, I was unable to find anywhere in the NW of England to have it done.

Very best wishes for your treatment,

Chris

User

Posted 17 Nov 2019 at 21:07

I think things may have changed in recent months.

My hospital, Mount Vernon, had been doing SpaceOAR privately when I started my treatment 4 months ago. The NHS gave them 30 or 60 (I forget) SpaceOAR's to try out on the NHS. The NHS had some hundreds from the manufacturer to try out, and distributed them to the key prostate oncology centres and Mount Vernon used several of theirs with HDR brachytherapy (I was considered, but unsuitable for other reasons).

I haven't followed this since then, but these free ones were used to get many more oncologists trained up on using it, ready for NHS roll-out.

User

Posted 17 Nov 2019 at 21:49

But it still isn't widely available on the NHS and some of the centres of excellence offered it but then withdrew from the programme due to low uptake.

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

User

Posted 18 Nov 2019 at 10:30

I'll try to remember to ask what the current state is at the Mount Vernon support group meeting on Wednesday.

User

Posted 20 Jan 2020 at 21:59

I was diagnosed on the NHS in September 2019, Gleason 9, so aggressive. Fortunately my wife has Aviva Private Health Insurance through her work which covers me too. My oncologist in Glasgow arranged for me to have a PSMA scan done at the Harley St Clinic, basically an MRI scan with a special radioactive tracer for high imagery to double check cancer has not spread outside the prostate. It had not fortunately. I mentioned at the next appointment that I had read about SpaceOAR and it turned out that he is leading the cause to get it approved on the NHS in Scotland and said he would arrange for this to be done again by the Harley Street Group. I would be the first person he had arranged this for. My insurance company authorised the PSMA scan and the spacer and have been excellent. I had the fiducial markers and SpaceOAR done at the same time under general anaesthetic at the Princess Grace Hospital in London on Tuesday 14th Jan 2020, it all went to plan and I was discharged that afternoon. No pain, bruising or discomfort, I don’t even know it is there and went for a couple of pints that night! My RT planning day is this Thursday and I start 20 sessions of RT on 10th February at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow. I will update here how it goes and what the side affects are like. I am hoping the spacer does its job well! Getting there, just counting down the days now to 9th March when the RT ends. Oh, and I have been on hormones, bicalutamide, since 10th October and will remain on it for two years because of the Gleason score of 9.

Good luck to all!

Edited by member 20 Jan 2020 at 22:01 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 20 Jan 2020 at 22:10

Best of luck with your treatment, Bryan. I finished my RT 10 months ago and found it relatively plain sailing.

Best wishes,

Chris

User

Posted 20 Jan 2020 at 22:20

Thanks Chris, good to hear! Weird thing this disease, you don’t feel ill but are getting all this stuff done to you! Onwards and upwards, will be behind me soon! Cheers

User

Posted 21 Jan 2020 at 07:57

Hi Bryan, best of luck with your RT. Like Chris, I found my RT relatively plain sailing. I finished 9 months ago and came off the Bical about a month later. Like you, I didn’t feel unwell but was having lots done to me! All I can say is I feel even better now.

User

Posted 21 Jan 2020 at 08:09

Thanks Arthur, good to hear the RT hasn’t been the ordeal you read it can be. With the spacer in as well I hope I have a fairly easy ride too. Was lying in bed last night and calculating it was 3 weeks yesterday that my RT begins and 7 weeks yesterday it will be finished. Can’t wait!

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