SABR Side effects

Hi Lemsip 

Thank you for the update. I am due to begin SABR within the next couple of weeks, so receiving your report is genuinely helpful.

Neil.

Thanks very much for posting your update Lemsip, these posts are extremely useful to those considering or about to have similar treatments, and interesting to those of us who aren't. 

I hope the cold gets better soon, are you taking Lemsip for it?

All the best, Derek.

Nice one, excavator. Good question. It's funny you should say that, but NO I'm not taking LemSip! I am done with that for life.

Hi Lemsip

Thanks for the info, i'm just waiting for a date now.  Had the set up scan etc. If you don't mind answering, can I ask what your target area was? mine is L1 spine. My hospital hasn't performed SABR  treatment in this area before so they are being extra cautious.

Hope your cold is better

Hello boatman.

Mine was the prostate gland, the walnut sized blob at the bottom of the bladder. Because of its proximity to the bowel and bladder, and because the urethra passes right through it, it had a temporary adverse effect on my toilet habits.

I read up on the technology and it is amazing. The planning scan builds a 3D model of the target. 

Then, the team makes sure you're positioned so that the target is right in the centre of rotation of the machine. each emitter fires beams through a window that changes shape as it rotated around you, so that, at any moment, the beam matches the silhouette the target, as it looked from that direction. This protects surrounding tissues from radiation.

If you're into engineering marvels, look up the Multileaf_collimator on Wikipedia.

Hi lemsip im glad your SABR treatment went well mine also went well but the hormone therapy hit me like a tone of bricks as for side affects after SABR again sudden urges to wee still get it now when running a tap and I’m nearly 24 months post treatment and in remission the biggest issue for me post treatment is my little man isn’t working so well been given all sorts of tablets which have been very intermittent but after being discharged from oncology to urology is where it’s failed you only get a phone call twice a year never a face to face and still waiting to get injections next call is November to chat about my psa results which have been steady at 0.02.

good luck with your recovery 

Hi Lemsip,

Thanks for that, most interesting, I can see now why theres a delay in treatment. They said there were complex calculations to be done, it makes sense now.

Obviously in my case they are cautious of the spinal cord.

David, I'm sorry to read about what you're going through so long after your radiotherapy. 

The general fatigue is 24/7 and I can't cure it by sleeping. I am kind of starting to get used to it, but I hope that once this ADT injection has worn off, I will start to feel well again.

I'm sorry to hear that you're still affected two years down the line. I can't really comment on "that" side of things for myself because not only am I not interested for now, but neither is Mrs Lemsip, also for hormonal reasons.

While the painful part of the SABR side effect is definitely finished, I do notice that the urge to pee comes omore quickly than it used to. Again, it's too early to say whether this is permanent because I am still getting over the radio and have been advised that it could take a couple more months.

If you are still having problems after two years though, that doesn't sound right. If you have written about it on this forum, please point me to it.I would like to know what the longer term effects are even if only as they apply to you. 

All the best

Hi lemsip the fatigue will continue for a while and also the hot flushes my fatigue side of things has now almost gone good days and bad days but i kept pushing myself but as i said the urology part has been a let down even after telling them about the Suden  urge to pee all i got well it could be systitus and that was it nothing more they said i could have an implant for my ED but i don’t want that i have spoken to my doctor about it and all he said that there is a referral actioned but it’s going to be at least a year before i see a consultant which isn’t good enough really  during my radiotherapy i was taken care of by Portsmouth QE2 hospital and i can’t praise them enough but now im under Chichester hospital and hit the brick wall anyway it does get better as time goes on and when you see your figures come down the positive feelings come back.

Dave