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Positive.

Posted , 4 users are following.

Greencup
Greencup

Are there men out there that have been treated ( Proton, IMRT, RP, etc) that are doing well? It would be uplifting to hear some positive results. 10, 20 years out. No reoccurrence, etc. just a little good news for a Friday. I hope this doesn't offend any one. Just looking for encouragement.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • gale10132
    gale10132 Greencup

    Posted

    I am 2 years out from proton radiation with no adverse effects. PSA has gone down from 7.9 to .45 and expecting it to drop a small amount more. 
    • barney34567
      barney34567 gale10132

      Posted

      Forgive me for asking, I may have already, but did you suffer any impotence or incontinence following proton therapy?
  • gale10132
    gale10132 Greencup

    Posted

    No problems with impotence or incontinence todate. 
    • barney34567
      barney34567 gale10132

      Posted

      Good to hear. Another reason for me to consider proton therapy.
  • ES28567
    ES28567 Greencup

    Posted

    From the men I have talked to and what I have read, typically the side effects of ED, and incontinence do not show up right away with any of the radiation treatments. So I'm have told me they are experiencing slight rectal bleeding but nothing major and usually clears up. The big concern with radiation treatment is longer-term of 5 to 10 years out when the damage from radiation starts to show up with incontinence and ED. Once the side effects from the radiation start to show up, there is nothing that can be done about it and it progressively gets worse. However, some of the side effects could also be because of just the men getting older. You should also investigate HIFU. It does not use radiation and if there's a need, you can always have HIFU repeated and it also leaves surgery and radiation treatment as options for you in the future. You are smart to be asking for men who have had radiation treatment 10 to 20 years out. That is how you get the best accuracy on long-term side effects. The one caveat to that is that the radiation procedures that we're done 10, 15, and 20 years ago have been improved and the side effects for the men that had the procedures done back then should be less or minimized compared to the same procedures that are done for men today.

    Hope that helps

    • ES28567
      ES28567 Greencup

      Posted

      Look up Dr.George M. Suarez. He has been doing the HIFU procedure for about 13 years (long before it was FDA approved). Not saying it is right for you but at least another option with less side effects. This is the direction I am leaning.
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