Brachytherapy-would like to hear your experiences

Thank you. Be well and safe and I hope all goes according to plan. Do stay in touch. 

Hi Tatami53,

I now have a date for the procedure, I go in on 24th October. They have given me the first slot of the day so I am hoping to be in and out on the same day, but worst case it will be just the one night stay.  I'm feeling OK about it at the moment but I think as the date gets closer I am sure I will start to get anxious.

How are you getting on?

Net Zero, thank you for checking in. It's good that you have a date, although I am sure I would feel exactly as you. 

In Japan I was told that I would have to stay in the hospital for 3-4 days (for the brachytherapy) before I would be released. They will not release me with a catheter. I have to be able to urinate on my own. 

My experience at the doctor's on September 6 kind of turned my world upside down. He was the doctor who would perform the brachytherapy. I had psyched myself up for the appointment, had read all my documents and had my list of questions. 

He asked me if I "wanted" the brachytherapy. I said of course I don't "want" it. I am only doing the procedure because I was basically given two options: surgery or radiation (in this case, brachytherapy). 

In short he showed me what I believe were the results of my June 2 biopsy. Instead of one Gleason score, he showed me 4. Three of them were 3+3, and one of them was 3+4. This put me much more in the "wait and see" stage. He did show me the image captured in the MRI. He said, "Do you see that tiny white dot? That is the cancer." He said it was about 1 mm. He said that he felt I should come back November 24 for another PSA test and then continue every 2-3 months, and then in a year do another MRI. As with anyone else, my PSA number has fluctuated, and over the last year, the high was 5.62, and the low was 4.51. The "high" number did not seem to bother him in the least. He said the number will go up as I age, which I was aware of. He also said  that my situation could go on as it is for the next 30 years. He did not seem remotely concerned. I was in so much shock I couldn't think straight. 

I'm beginning to think that because there was an indication of cancer that both the other urologists felt it needed to be addressed within a reasonable amount of time (in their minds, that meant 3 months (that's what I was told on August 15).

For this new doctor (recommended by the head of the urology department, and also recommended by my friend's urologist, and also by the junior urologist at the same hospital) to not feel any sense of urgency kind of blew my mind. 

I certainly did not know there were 4 Gleason scores. I also did not know the size of the tumor, and neither of the other two doctors had told me. And since I was basically living in denial that I even had cancer, I didn't think to ask till I met with this 3rd doctor on Sept. 6. When he said it was a millimeter, I just kind of froze. It's so small as to almost be laughable. 

I am not going to blow this off and pretend that everything is back to normal and all is fine. But IF this 3rd doctor is correct, and he continues to monitor me, and the PSA stays relatively within the same range, then perhaps I have "graduated" to the "active surveillance" stage. He told me I was in the "favorable intermediate risk." (I attach a document. https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/prostate-cancer/intermediate-risk-prostate-cancer)

While on one hand, I guess I should feel happy, I will feel happier after November 24 and the PSA results, and after I ask him some well-thought out questions. I am sure if I asked him that day to perform the brachytherapy, he would be happy to oblige. But I certainly never expected him to basically tell me not to worry about it and that we will monitor it. 

So, that is my current situation. I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, think I am "out of the woods." But my hope (perhaps falsely) is that in his opinion, I am not yet at the stage where brachytherapy is called for. If this cancer grows as slowly as it seems to, then I also hope that at now, at age 68, something else will do me in (quickly, I hope) and that perhaps (?) I can live with this for the rest of my natural life. 

I will be thinking of you on Oct. 24, and please let me know how it goes. I support you and feel basically I am in the same boat, but perhaps I caught a different wave for a couple of months. 

I'm not sure why your stay will be so short, but of course, no one wants to be in hospital any longer than necessary. Again, in Japan, I was told quite clearly that it's a 3-4 night stay. So... 

Please stay in touch. Maintain your optimum health. And I think that you (and I) chose the right path. I can no longer even remotely understand why anyone would choose surgery unless it's absolutely necessary. And the more I talked to doctors, it seemed that brachytherapy was the lesser of all evils. So... 

Chat with me any time about this. I spent hours and hours researching all things connected to this, and I'd like to believe (perhaps falsely) that the doctor was somewhat impressed that I came in prepared with some understanding of my condition and what my treatment options were. 

Okay, forgive my babbling. I'm totally isolated here, so I really don't have anyone to share these thoughts with. 

Be well. 

Hi I am 56 i was diagnosed stage 2  prostate cancer, i can’t remember my Gleason scale but I have 40% aggressive to 60% non aggressive cancer which is contained.  The diagnosis was In February 2022  and I had the Brachytherapy operation on April 29th at the Royal Marsden. We chose Brachytherapy because it gave the same percentage of success as the full prostatectomy but with fewer side effects. 
so far so good. Tomorrow I have my PSA test and next week see my surgeon again to see how the therapy is doing. 
I have really felt good during the treatment and although I am in the strongest month for the radiotherapy coming from the seeds  I am working full time just heading to bed way earlier than I used to.

my Libido is gone and I cannot right now get an erection although bizarrely enough orgasm is still achievable.  I am hoping this is something I can sort out.

not sure if this is any help right now but I am glad I took this version of treatment. The hardest part has been watching my partner cope with it. 
good luck with this. I would be very happy to give you any info you may need. 

Martyn, thank you. Yes, this is extremely helpful. The doctor (original one, at least) mentioned that I might experience ED for up to 5 years after getting brachytherapy. But on the other hand, at least I'd eventually be able to experience a full orgasm again. 

I'm glad to hear you are feeling good and able to work, that's excellent. I think my main concern with this (or any procedure having to do with this area) is urination. Has urination been painful for you? Or is it just an immediate need? The doctor said it would been an immediate need, which is what I experienced after having the biopsy. That lasted about two weeks and it was miserable, but I'm fine now. May I ask how it's been for you? And thank you for the input, it's greatly appreciated. 

Hi

The urgency to urinate is something I have got used to. Yes I can be up once or twice a night but sometimes a lot more. I have got used to planning my day around the fact that when I need to go I have to go now. It really has not been a massive problem. My worry was control and I still have control.

I have the same issues with my colon this can also become urgent. This does not happen as much but things do change.

it is amazing how the body seems to get used to Brachytherapy. A lot of it is getting your head around it and my way was to use the transition from having cancer to fighting cancer. Fighting it feels much better. 

Martin, love the part about 

Martyn said:

A lot of it is getting your head around it and my way was to use the transition from having cancer to fighting cancer. Fighting it feels much better. 

Best of luck with your recovery.

Dee, don't worry about babbling.  I call it waffling and I constantly do it.

Thank you.

Thank you again. Yes, exactly what you said: transitioning from having it to fighting it. Yes, hats off to you, fighting it is what I must do. 

If I may, yet again, how long as the urgency to urinate lasted? In other words, when did you have the brachytherapy? I was under the impression that one would return to normal bathroom habits within a few weeks. But has that not been the case? 

After my biopsy I couldn't leave the house for 5 days. I was extremely concerned. Now I feel like my old self. When I finally allowed myself to leave the house, I had to time everything to make sure there were available public restrooms en route to my work. I in fact had to map it out so I wouldn't have any "accidents." I was fortunate and I did not, and this too lasted about two weeks. 

As for the brachytherapy... has it impacted bowel movements as well? This is news for me. 

Be well, and thank you for your response; it's so helpful and encouraging.