Radiation therapy

westwind

Now have PC and plan to take radiation therapy, but have heard of incontinense with radiation when I thought it was more of an issue with removal. Anyone have experience or comments

On_A_Journey

I had my prostate removed at the age of 52 and after a few months I was almost dry, I was down to one light pad per day. A couple of months after that I had to get follow-up radiation to the prostate bed because my PSA didn't fall to a minimum level. I was told then that I might never be completely dry because of it.

My small amount of leakage was fairly constant for around six years after that, but it then deteriorated rapidly and by the middle of this year I was losing about 200ml per day. In August I underwent surgery and had a 'sling' installed which has helped immensely but I still lose a bit. This sling can be adjusted and I have an appointment with my urologist next week to get a top-up.

Anyway, a couple of weeks before the surgery, I had to undergo some tests including a cystoscopy. My urologist remarked that he could see plenty of erosion present that was due to the radiation that I had all those years earlier.

By comparison my father also had prostate cancer and had his removed when he was 68. He didn't need any follow-up treatment and once he recovered, remained completely dry until his final year when his body was starting to shut down anyway. He was almost 89 then.

Clevelandguy

Hi,

Yes you can have incontinense and ED, unfortunately there are no guarantees with either surgery or radiation. It all depends on the extent of your cancer and doctors and facilities you use for your treatment. Many survivors hopefully will chime in with their experiences. It also depends on your Gleason score and where the cancer is positioned inside of your Prostate, so get a PET scan + Bone scan to determine where your cancer is located and it’s aggressiveness. In my humble non medical opinion the best radiation type is Proton which has a fixed focal length and the beam does not go past the intended target. Other types of radiation like Cyberknife used a gel inserted between your bladder and rectum that offers protection since the beam does go through your body. I had surgery in 2014 and have minor ED(still gets the job done) and I leak a drop or two when I stress or strain so I wear a Depends light pad every day. I am OK with that, other people may not be.

Dave 3+4

eonore

I had removal in October, 2017, and had 39 sessions of external beam radiation in spring of 2019. Prior to radiation I was basically continent, although I wear a light pad everyday just to be safe. It has been four and a half years since the radiation, and I have had no change in my status.

Eric

Old Salt

The rate of incontinence after radiation therapy is low, about 5-10%. Age, of course plays a role as well as general fitness. Therefore, It's hard to be really specific for your case.