Post CyberKnife Procedure -- 30-Day Checkup

Kongo

I had my 30-day post treatment follow-up with my medical team on Friday following 5 radiation treatments that ended on July 1. So far, everything is excellent. No urinary issues. No bowel or rectal irratitation. No ED issues. There is a slight reduction in the amount of ejaculate but that is considered normal. No pain. No post-radiation fatigue. I have not experienced any adverse impact on my work or travel schedule or any other normal activities. During the procedure I went to work immediately following my radiation and traveled cross country twice on business in the two weeks immediately following treatment.

I go back in another 60 days for another checkup where the PSA will be recorded and they will do a DRE.

My doctor indicated that my experience is not unusual for men with early stage prostate cancer that receive treatment early. He also indicated that men who have urinary issues before treatment that are related to an enlarged prostate frequently experience short term urinary issues (a sense of urgency or slight burning) that resolve themselves within a month or treatment. Men with ED issues before treatment typically have some type of ED after treatment but often at a reduced level of severity.



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Age: 59
Dx: March 2010
PSA @ Dx: 4.3 (Latest PSA shortly before treatment = 2.8 after elimination of dairy)
Gleason: 3+3=6 (confirmed by second pathologist)
Biopsy: 1 of 12 cores contained adenocarcinoma at 15% involvement and no evidence of perineural invasion
DRE: Normal
Stage: T1c
Bone scan and chest x-rays: Negative
Prostate Volume: 47 cc
PSA Velocity: 0.19 ng/ml/yr
PSA Density: 0.092 ng/ml/ccm
PSA Doubling Time: > 10 Years
Treatment Decision: CyberKnife radiation treatment in June 2010. Side effects: None

BRONX52

KONGO
GLAD TO HEAR EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL AND WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS. YOU ARE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE CAUGHT IT AT SUCH AN EARLY STAGE. MAY YOU HAVE CONTINUED SUCCESS AND UNDETECTABLE PSA!! GOOD LUCK !!!

YTW

Great news
Kongo: As they say in Australia..."Good On You Yank and Fairdinkum".

randy_in_indy

Kongo
Sounds like you made an excellent choice of treatment for your case! Really good after effects - None!!! Keep us posted on the progression ahead. It seems the best way to beat the beast is early detection. I bet within the next 10 years the medical community will have even better testing and diagnosis so treatment choices will be evident upon the diagnosis. The beast is slowly but surely becoming more manageable it seems.

Randy

Trew

So Far.....
Your end results are similar to those who have had proton therapy- those guys are also shooting real bullets. Looking back over my treatment, I wish I had understood enough about what was happening to me to focus more on quality of life issues in treatment. I think you have done well to consider those issues and explore options. I"m 16 months past surgery right now and I do remember the excitment around my first two PSA tests, but that is wearing off now and I am breathing a little easier every day.

Swingshiftworker

Sounds great, Kongo! My
Sounds great, Kongo!

My stats are almost identical to yours. I'm surprised you were able to get treated so quickly after you made the choice to go w/CK. I made the CK decision in April 2010, but had to change carriers from Kaiser to Blue Shield, which is probably why it's taken me longer to get treatment. Just got Blue Shield's authorization for the CK treatment. Am scheduled to have the markers placed on 8/31 and and am still waiting to get scheduled for the actual CK treatments, which should be administered sometime in September.

Nothing good about this cancer, but at least early detection and slow growth allows time for bureaucratic delay. Hope my experience is as good as yours.