I am someone who has had prostate cancer and had 37 radiotherapy treatments and two years of hormone therapy. I wasnt eligble for this as my psa was too high, but from what I have learned Brackytherapy had far less side effects than most other treatments for prostate cancer. I have had a good result but have suffered from various side effects which I look as as a small price to pay.
There was a gentleman from the USA posting on here recently and he did a lot of research and went the same route as you and he didnt have any side effect much at all. His name is Bobbert and the post was entitles bracytherapy. Hope this helps if you are able to talk with him it would be very helpful for you I feel sure. If you use the SEARCH FORUM box in the blue bar at the top of this page and type his name in, it will take you to his profile page and underneath it will show his post
Wishing you all the best and please let us know how you get on, Brian.
Brian has given you such a good tip that to make things easier for you, I thought I would point you in Bobbert's direction. You can find Bobbert's post by clicking here and you can respond to him if you wish. He is a great guy!
We also have some useful information on brachytherapy on our website. Our nurses are also available on 0808 800 4040 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm - it's a free number from UK landlines so don't hesitate to give them a call at any time.
lucie, site moderator, referred me to you. I am 5 weks out from permanent seed implantaion. Would be glad to answer any questions or ally any fears you might have. I wrote about my experience briefly on this site..but would be happy to go into all the gory details about the procedure and after effects...It is really not that bad...so feel free to write anything here that I may be able to help you with!
thankyou for your responce yes I would welcome your tips as I am a bit apprehensive about which route to take I had tests in london for the hifu treatment but since then I have decided on radiotherapy.
Hey...glad to tell you my experiences...my PSA 6.8, Gleaason 4+3..intermediate..oncologist thought my prostate too enlarged..but with advanced computer generated imaging he uses he thought he could cover all tumors with Iodine-12 low yiield radiation permanent seeds..his team implanted 97 on May 15, 2015 in a 1.75 hour procedure. I chose not to have a "spinal" but instead went with local/topical lanocaine. Two things you should know.....like me I think you are doing a fair amount of research...a good thing....I am always a bit cautious about Docs/Hospitals... I also went to a few web sites as well as checked out a recently written book: "Invaision of the Prostate Snatchers"....about maintaining quality of life after prostate therapy...seed therapy seemed least invaisive to me....other alternatives were removal, robotic surgery, external beam radiation or do nothing (5-10 year life expectancy). In very close consultaion with my oncologist we spoke on phone x2 for over an hour. He asked me to come for further tests..I was impressed with his team, his skills and after he did more advanced tests on May 5, he said I was a good candidte...he is a leader in doing the imaging to exactly locate each seed to within a millimeter. To see how the procedcure works, this UK site has very good diagrams and descriptions of various prostate procedures. Better than American Cancer Society...just to let you know, I spent a month in 1982 driving around the UK-England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland and love your country..even though we are considered a bit rowdy..;;-)..My people are from Germany, naturalized 1895 and 1921....I will happy to describe the details and after effects of Brackytherapy for you..but, to be sure, my bowl & bladder are almost back to normal 5 weeks out and I hope for a very low PSA in August with my follow-up bloodwork...And yes, I can still get an erection...Take care!.
