I am having Brachytherapy on the 19th for Prostate and been told and reading the literature I need to keep away / distance from babies and pregnant women which is no problem...
What about my puppy? One year old and loves to sit on me or lay on me, is there a place local (Portsmouth area) I can get a brachytherapy blanket I can put over me?
Looked online but they all seem to be from America and very expensive, help buying / hiring one would be of great help..
Thanks in advance
Hello ObiOne,
Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to our online community.
I can see from your profile that you have joined our prostate cancer forum. I hope it will be a good source of support for you as you go through treatment.
My name is Carole and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
It’s only natural to be concerned about the side effects of your treatment to your puppy.
It sounds as if you are having permanent seed brachytherapy, but it would be helpful if you could confirm.
I’m not sure if the information you have been given by your hospital team mentions pets, but Prostate Cancer UK have general advice on their website. They say:
‘If you have pets, try not to let them sit on your lap for the first two months after treatment’.
They go on to say that your doctor or nurse will talk about this in more detail.
We’d recommend that you talk to them about any concerns you have about treatment and the precautions you need to take, following treatment.
They are best placed to advise as they have access to medical notes and can give advice that’s specific to your situation.
Unfortunately, as a charity, we are not able to recommend specific products, but your oncologist or brachytherapy radiographer should be able to give you more information about brachytherapy blankets.
Your clinical nurse specialist should be able to provide contact details for them.
It might be helpful to speak to one of the nurses at Prostate Cancer UK too. Their phone number is 0800 074 8383. And it might be helpful to ask them about the one to one peer support service they provide.
I hope this is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if you have further questions.
Sending my best wishes,
Carole
Our ref:AM
