LDR Brachytherapy on its own and beyond

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Hi, I am not new to this group, I had the above treatment 9 weeks ago, the detail of which is in my BIO..   What I would like to find out is, has anyone had just this and what was their journey like, so we can share, the same for SBRT as we are trying to gain info to help others.   I am open to private messaging if that helps, just so I can if you like take a little bit of a lead on this as there is a lot of confusion on selection of treatment options, and these do not seem to be being perhaps made clear at MDT meetings leading some people to make other decisions without even being aware..  We have some fantastic experts on this forum in other areas, and although we hold no qualifications in selection of treatment, what we do have is experience of having it, which some of the consultants/nurses etc etc don’t have   Hope that makes sense. Miilibob, alpine wanderer, always hope, are you ok with this ? 

  • Hi  - I’m certainly ok about this approach as, indeed, brachytherapy isn’t offered if it’s not done at the local hospital or NHS Trust.  However, referrals are allowed, so the information needs to be out there.  If you have specific questions, you can message me within this site. I’ve looked at your bio, and you’re currently textbook, considering you have had brachytherapy as a mono therapy with no HT.    AW

  • Hi AW, The main reason for doing this bit of data gathering is to aid understanding in general, i am ok with it as it is for me as i am talking to my consultant and did quite a bit of homework beforehand.. What is frustrating to me is this pushing towards more aggresive treatments when in fact that may not be necessary and thus avoid a pile of risk.. I understand many people may just say, right i have it, lets get rid of it, and thats fine if thats an informed decision but i am just not sure it always is, for example, avoiding brachytherapy because you have to have a few months of not having young children on you knee, or that surgery cant be done afterwards, to me these are red herrings, what you dont want is years of misery due to side effects of other treatments  if you dont have to.   does that make sense 

  • Hi  it makes perfect sense.  I am in total agreement - you could be singing from my song book !  AW

  • It's definitely OK with me and will certainly help others make an informed choice. For those who have low risk factors and who are eligible for it then LDR Brachytherapy as a monotherapy is an excellent option. I have a friend who had this procedure many years ago and he is still doing fine living a normal active life. There is nothing like first hand experience.

  • thank you, just had my 1st PSA test 9 weeks in and its 1.87 which the consultant said is reassuring. Just need to get my bladder under a bit better control now, maybe eat more bread to dry up the fluid inside me, just shows how unmedically knowledged i am.  JoyBlush

  • Will watch this thread with interest as I am still in the undecided bracket , at 56 with 3+4 really don’t fancy possible side effects from surgery when other options that are much less invasive could give same out come but seems main direction Is if it’s there get it out 

  • Yes, understood, this was my dilema, which is why I would like loads of responses, but to date none which help this thread..  You would think this data does exist from feedback forms, but I don’t think this is gathered by anyone and published. My advice is to talk to specialists in each area, and then research further afterwards to ensure you have all you need to make your decision. Maybe people who come on this site, once they have made their decision go off of it, so we never get this really important feedback, I think when someone joins it would help if they stayed giving feedback for say 12 months, but that’s just my view, I am happy I joined it though, but just can’t find anyone else who has provided regular updates after the LDR Brachytherapy and the new SBRT. Which is a real shame onsidering how long LDR has been going on, and there are probably several hundreds done yearly, but who knows.. If you type in LDR Brachytherapy on this site you will see what I mean.  Maybe going forwards those who run the site may consider sub branching some of the treatments, and then having branches labelled pre treatment and post treatment to give us all a chance, but maybe that’s too big an ask, but that is what is necessary in my view if this site is to be a source of patient detail/experiences…. Anyway, I am just a mere worker ant.. BlushJoySlight smile

  • LDR and the new SBRT is, effectively, brachytherapy boost.  I had that in Dec 2023 for the brachytherapy and Jan- Feb 2024 for the boost.  Now off HT with a PSA of 0.03.  All in my bio.   AW

  • hi, thanks, thats great, what i am now after is ldr on its own just to give us a bit more info on side effects..   thanks again 

  • Between LDR and starting EBRT (one month) I had minimal side effects (mostly due to HT).  AW