Our whole pelvis radiotherapy journey

Yes, this came up in a support group, and the consultant radiographer there said the important thing is not to significantly extend the total duration of the treatment because that changes the dosing which would have been required. Apparently prostate is not as bad as some other tumor targets in this respect. IIRC, he said if you miss a lung radiotherapy session, you have to have two to compensate.

Well, a further update this morning. He managed to have a few good hours sleep, but when he woke at 1.30am, all his skin was red, from his neck to his ankles. Is it the radiotherapy? Is it the antibiotics? Is it both? He googled it for a while, decided he felt ok, apart from his skin feeling warmish, so tried to go back to sleep. He managed a few more hours, then when he woke again at 7, he still felt ok, but was feeling anxious about the redness. So he's taken himself to A & E (at 8am) again, and is currently waiting to see a doctor and have a blood test. The blood test he had yesterday came back fine. He messaged two hours ago (10.15am) to say they had given him steroids and an antihistamine. It feels like things are never ending. 

Edited by member 07 Jan 2023 at 12:14  | Reason: Not specified

11 of 23 fr done, and other than the hot flashes in the evening, he's feeling fine so far, just a little tired in the late afternoon. Today's appointment is 5pm, tomorrow's is 8am, and then Wednesday's is 3pm, meaning three lots within 48 hours. Hopefully the strike action won't affect his appointments later in the week.

Edited by member 19 Jan 2023 at 11:45  | Reason: More info added

20 of 23 fr done. A small amount of blood in his stools again this morning and yesterday morning. He says there's no sign in the bowl, just on the toilet paper, and it's only a small amount. He also says it only happens first thing in the morning, and though his new routine is to empty his bowels twice with 2 hours of waking, there hasn't, yet, been any sign of blood in the second one. Is this a normal occurrence with whole pelvis radiotherapy? He's not in any discomfort or pain so far, and his stools are soft, so no forcing. Does he need to tell them this afternoon when he goes for his RT? Or is it just par for the course?

Hey Elle jay 🙂

your post is very interesting as I am due to start this in April

how is OH doing in other ways such as energy general health etc?

N

All 23 fractions done. Still feeling ok. Can anyone tell us what happens next? He said the radiographer mentioned something about a scan, and that nothing could be seen on one right away, as RT inflames your insides, so it would be in a couple of weeks. He didn't question it, so I thought I'd ask on here to find out if it's normal procedure. 

Edited by member 01 Feb 2023 at 09:15  | Reason: Not specified

February 14th, Happy Valentine's Day! It's been 6 months since he was diagnosed with T3, G9 PCa, two weeks since the last of 23fr of whole pelvis radiotherapy, and eleven weeks since HDR brachytherapy. It's three weeks until his third Prostap 3 injection, and his follow up appointment is scheduled for the beginning of August. He's still taking tamsulosin in the morning, but peeing no more than 250ml each time throughout the day. There's been no sign of blood in his stools or on paper for 8 days, though the consistency is still soft, and he needs to go 3 times a day. He says the hot flashes aren't too bad up to now, and the fatigue comes & goes, but is tolerable. He goes to bed around 9pm, wakes 2-3 times to pee, then can't stay asleep after 3.30am. Thankfully this isn't a problem, as he's used to odd sleep patterns, due to recently retiring (12 months ago) from being a tramper class 1 hgv driver. He walks ten thousand steps most days, and says that he feels good, and other than the occasional paranoia of wondering what the slightest pain or twinge is, life has gone back to normal, and we're enjoying the freedom from the monotony of having to go to The Christie 5 times a week. The time leading up to and during treatment has dragged & flown in equal measure, and if it wasn't for this forum, I'd most likely still be as hysterical as I was in the beginning. 

Four weeks now since the last RT, and still feeling ok. Things are much the same as my last update, though there was a little blood in his stools of Friday, but nothing since. The past four days or so, he's said he's had stomach ache/cramps, sometimes before or just after a bowel movement, but they didn't last long. He's also mentioned a dull ache in his pelvis. Does anyone know if this is because of the RT, or the Prostap, or because of the extra walking he's been doing, or just a mixture of everything?