THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2014 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
My regular doctor, an internist, had been tracking my rising PSA since November 2007. It went from 2.7 to 3.1 and after a course of antibiotics, peaked at 3.4 in February 2008. He said "time to see a urologist".
I saw the uro on 12 March 2008, biopsy 9 April, results revealed 21 April. T1C, Gleason 7. Met with doctors representing the surgical and radiology approaches.
I chose Brachytherapy (June 23) preceded by a 4-month Lupron shot (May 29). I'll start 5 weeks of daily external beam radiation treatments on 25 August. Next PSA is planned for 15 September with another 4-month Lupron shot to follow a week later. More to follow.
The EBRT (IMRT) started on schedule (25 August 2008) with a couple of breaks due to Painful Urination (PU). I was prescribed Pyridium to relieve the pain in the urethra. That provided no relief. A urine culture proved negative for any infection. The radiation doc prescribed Pyridium Plus. Again, no relief from pain and the "Plus" turns out to be a barbituate that nearly caused me to fall asleep while driving home from work. Back to plain Pyridium (a colorful side effect is orange-colored urine). I completed EBRT treatment #17 (of 25 planned) on September 19. The PU persisted so the radiation doc suspended treatments for 30 days, hoping I would heal. The PU increased and I was convinced that my penile bulb had also been toasted by radiation.
The doc said possible but not likely. I still experience mild pain in the region of or around the penile bulb (internal, above the scrotum)when sitting or bending over. During a scheduled visit to my uro doc, he took me off Pyridium and said I should have only been on that med for a few days, not weeks. He prescribed Utira-C to deaden the pain in the urethra. Now my urine is blue instead of orange but no relief from the pain.
I returned to the radiation doc on October 20 for re-evaluation for EBRT continuation. I was first greeted by the head radiology technician and was informed she had re-computed the placement of the beam and future EBRT treatments should result in less damage to the urethra, rectum and penile bulb. Since my PU had increased, the radiation doc placed me on another 30 day suspension from EBRT. Both he and my uro agree that I probably have had enough radiation and further treatment is not vital.
Next evaluation by the radiation doc will be 20 November. I received my second Lupron (ADT) shot on 22 October. My uro opted for a 3 month shot rather than the planned 4 monther. The first shot resulted in frequent hot flashes, mood swings and depression. So far, side effects are minimal with this second shot. Next PSA will be 12 January, 2009 with a followup visit to my uro doc on the 19th. I'll provide updates when any significant events occur.
Thor from Virginia, USA
Following seven months of painful urination, the pain decreased when I stopped taking all drugs prescribed to relieve the pain. PSA readings (every six months) are still insignificant. ED is minor when augmented with Cialis.
I'm still hanging in there! I get a PSA test and see the Uro every six months. PSA remains undetectable.
Only new side effect after the seeds and radiation is a mild case of fecal incontinence. Guess my puckerstring (sphincter) took a hit during the IMRT. Anyway, its very manageable, never embarrassing.
Keep up the good work!
Regards, Thor
PSA has been undetectable every six months. If that continues until June, 2013, I'll graduate to an annual PSA evaluation. No regrets for choosing seeds, EBRT and ADT!
Here it is, July of 2013 and I'm still hanging in there! PSA is still undetectable so I moving on to an annual test. There are no significant changes since my last report, just getting older (which is good).
Phil
Thor's e-mail address is: fardley AT cox.net (replace "AT" with "@")
NOTE: Thor has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.
