Will my Dad be okay, with radiation AND seeds?

kristend · 03-30-2006, 06:40 PM

I've posted on here once before regarding my Dad whom is 58 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer on January 26th, his PSA is a 9, Gleason score of (3,5)=8, the doctor said he only had it on the left side about 30% he started taking casodex, and had a 3 month hormone shot. He just started radiation Monday, March 27th, he will be finished April 28th, 25 treatments of radiation. Then after that he has a 2-6 week break, then he will be going for seed implantation. I've been to a lot of message boards, but after reading people's stories I get really worried, and I can't sleep at night. My Dad is fine, good health and everything. I'm just curious if he will be alright? but I guess it all depends everyone is different. I'm thinking maybe I should stop reading these boards, but sometimes I find some comfort in them. I'm 22 years old and I'm still a daddy's lil girl. I just want him to be around for a long time still. Sometimes I start to think I better hurry and have my wedding now and start having kids. I don't find a lot of people that have had radiation and seed implantation. Does anyone know of any other websites that I can go to?

Thanks

jande · 03-31-2006, 10:51 AM

Hi Kristen - my thoughts are with you! My dad is going through the same thing - he just started his radiation treatments on Wednesday 3/29 - he is getting 55 treatments. Originally he was going to do half treatments and then the seeds but for some reason he changed his mind. From everything that I have read - it seems to have much success with the seeds. It is hard to see your dad go through something like this no matter what your age - I mean, it's your dad - they were always the one who made everything better and it just doesn't seem right. However, I'm sure he taught you to be strong - so that is what he needs from you. I'll be curious to see how your dad is feeling from the treatments - so far, my dad says he feels pretty beat up!! I am a believer in trying to help your body with diet and nutrition, so I have been trying to find something to keep him feeling better through all of this - this is proving to be quite a difficult task as there are a million things on the market. Keep me posted on your dad's results - and keep strong.

positive4u · 04-03-2006, 02:07 AM

Kristend-Thank you for posting. Take heart. Brachytherapy(seeds) done with external beam radiation appears to do well in patients that are your Dad's age. There may be side effects, but they are usually manageable. Keep giving him your support & keep us posted.
Positive4U

kristend · 04-04-2006, 04:04 PM

Thanks, I really appreciate everyone's postings. Well this is the start of the 2nd week for my Dad, so far he's been alright, just some hot flashes. He spoke with the doctor today and they prescribed him with flomax, I have no idea what this is for yet, but I'm going to do some research to find out. I will keep posting here on how he's doing.

Thank You
Kristen

kristend · 04-26-2006, 11:40 AM

Well it's my Dad's 5th week into radiation, he's been fine. His PSA went down to 2.6, but that's because of the casodex. He's still taking flowmax, which is for urinating. He has been doing that a lot, the flowmax helps it flow a little better, so he don't have to push himself to go. His last day of radiation will be May 2nd, then they are going to see if he is a candidate for the seeding, so they will do a CT to make sure no bone is in the way of placement, because if there is they can't do it, then he would just have to continue with the radiation. My Dad has gained some weight, the doctor said he should loose some, but the dietician said, it's perfectly fine, it's when you loose weight you have to worry she said. I'm still a little worried because of reading everyone else's experience with prostate cancer, everyone in my family seems confident that everything will be alright, I do also, but sometimes I don't and I worry. Okay well I just wanted to update.

Kristen