Is an MRI necessary before radiation treatment

ron3637

Thank you all for your responses. If I get treatment it will most likely be radiation. I have not had an MRI and my date to start radiation treatment to soon approaching. Prior to radiation treatment should I have had a MRI or is a MRI performed during treatment on the table so none is required before hand . Also, if there isa reoccurrence after radiation is ADT the only option. ADT really scares me. Thank you.

Clevelandguy

Hi,

What kind of radiation treatment are you going to have? I can’t see how they would do any type of external beam radiation without an MRI to guide the beam. ADT will weaken the cancer but not kill it, ADT is commonly used with other types of treatment. To answer your question most doctors will use ADT, but your correct, the side effects can be scary. But, everyone reacts to ADT differently.

Dave 3+4

Marlon

Did you have a biopsy?

MRIs are done in a special facility inside a metal tube, not on the table.

ron3637

My is question is when is a the MRI is given for radiation treatment pre procedure or during the procedure,

Marlon

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1716665#Comment_1716665

I think most of us have an MRI prior to the biopsy. The MRI guides where the biopsy sample will be taken. Thats why I asked.

ron3637

Talked with my radiation doctor and he said that a MRI would occur during our first staging meeting. Make sense? Also how likely is radiation a one and done procedure? Thanks for all your help.

Marlon

When I talked to the radiation oncologist their standard IMRT treatment would have been for 45 days - five days a week for a few minutes per day - in and out. There are other radiation procedures with other schedules. I did surgery instead.

Clevelandguy

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1716669#Comment_1716669

Hi,

External beam radiation is usually several treatments over days. Radioactive seed implants might be closer to a one and done. With external beam you might need a gel implanted between your Prostate and Rectum to protect the Rectum from radiation damage. Your doctor should be telling you whats in the immediate future. Do you know what kind of treatment you are having? You need to know!!! There are several types of external beam plus radioactive seed implants.

Dave 3+4

ron3637

External beam 5 treatments no seeds.

Josephg

The type of radiation (IMRT, SBRT, Seeds, etc.) recommended for treatment depends entirely upon your specific PCa situation. Where the PCa is located, how much PCa exists, its aggressiveness, has it escaped the prostate, etc., are all factors that must be considered in the evaluation and subsequent recommendation for a specific type of radiation treatment.

Clevelandguy

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1716672#Comment_1716672

👍

Dave 3+4

Old Salt

Ron,

It looks like you are considering Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT). I had this some ten years ago and I did have an MRI PRIOR TO radiation. I don't know what the current practice is.

There is an instrument that will do 'live' MRI during SBRT (aka MRI-guided SBRT), but the instrument maker went out of business recently. Such an instrument may still be functioning somewhere though.

Can you be specific where your proposed treatment will take place?

ron3637

John Hopkins in Washington DC.

Old Salt

Sibley? I didn't know they had an SBRT facility.

By far the best know SBRT radiation oncology group in the Washington area is at Georgetown (Medstar) hospital.