Brachyhterapy June 2021 - latest update

Hi Dave,

very interesting set of PSA statistics, showing the “brachytherapy bounce” in the middle.  I’m having “brachytherapy boost” (triple therapy - see my bio, basically HT, Brachy, IMRT of pelvic area). I’ve had the LDR brachytherapy operation (2 weeks ago) with no side effects so far.  With your case, I agree with the consultant that you shouldn’t worry. The blood could be due to a bit of proctitis, which may clear up on its own. I don’t think the blood is due to any escaping cells (especially as your PCa was caught so early).  The main thing is that, in the unlikely event that it is due to some minor recurrence of PCa, you have HT and IMRT (external beam) waiting in the wings if you need them. AW

Hello Roofbeaver  Thank you very much for the update. It's very encouraging to know "everything" works and your PSA is on the drop again.

I would hope that your positive post will encourage others to look at the Brachytherapy route. I know Alpine Wanderer has just started his journey down this route and we are all following him with interest.

Again, thanks for posting and best wishes - Brian.

In addition to my comments above, I note that the consultant has put you on three monthly checks (an obvious precaution), and that you have already got two PSA readings on a diminishing trend - so I suspect that it was proctitis that has calmed down. Did you have LDR (seeds) or HDR brachytherapy?

Hello Dave, though i didn't have brachytherapy, and my ejaculates were diverted to my bladder due to having a TURP, I did bleed occasionally for a very short time at orgasm. Also had blood in urine a couple of months ago, only during the 1st and occasionally the 2nd pee of the day, as scar tissue found in bloods was probably a urethral stricture. take care, Eddie

Hi Millibob, thanks so much for your reply. As you see, I've been very blessed because since my brachy I have lived life largely without change from the norm. I have cycled and gym trained as with very strong results and improvements . I do not think that my energy level has been effected by the treatment and in many ways II believe I am stronger.  Yes, semen is much reduced, I have no wish to father anymore children and therefore I have not been tested to see whether I am still fertile and I admit that I can no longer hang a wet towel on my erection although it certainly does still work very well. 

I will update on the forum when I have some news on the blood in my urine and semen 

All the best 

Dave 

Dear Alpine Wanderer, 

Thanks for the reply and may I wish you all the very best for your treatment and the future. I had permanent seed brachytherapy in June 21and as I've said have had no problems at all until recently. The PSA checks were supposed to be 6 weekly after they saw the first rise but for different reasons these have become irregular. I will post an update once I have something more to report on the blood situation but worthy of note is the fact that my PSA results are higher if I have been cycling a lot in the lead up to the test. I now refrain from cycling for 7 days prior to a test and other contacts suggest that a far more accurate test result is likely if sex is avoided beforehand aswell

All the best for now 

Dave 

Hi Eddie

Many thanks for your reply and the interesting information. I do hope that everything has settled down for you now. The blood in my urine tends to start around mid day which may suggest that it is exacerbated by movement/activtiy. I will keep the forum update 

Best wishes 

Dave 

I hope you don't mind me adding a question to your Brachytherapy thread.

I have read that you can have brachytherapy after a TURP.  Does anyone know if you can have Brachytherapy after HOLEP?  If so, is it more problematic?

Dedalus