[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer last year. Gleason 8 and PSA 8.5. I did extensive reading and research. I found the doctors here locally were focused on the cures that lined their pockets. My urologist was a surgeon so surgery was the only answer to my problem. I found a radiation oncologist and that was the only answer and it had to be the radiation machine owned by his practice which was photon radiation. An unbiased opinion was very difficult to find.

I read the book by Dr Patrick Walsh and 30 other books about the different types of prostate cancer treatment. I found out a lot of interesting things. Our daughter is a nurse practitioner and she got me access to every medicial paper published on prostate cancer. There are 100's and I read them all. Here is some stuff your doctor probably wont tell you.

Surgery. 30% of those that get their prostate removed (and this is very major surgery) end up doing radiation. And the side effects can be awful.

Photon radiation. (what is available locally) The collateral damage done by this type radiation is fairly extensive. A very high percentage of patients end up with incontinence, ED or both plus bowl and bladder problems.

After all my research I decided on Proton radiation. Very different than Photon radiation. There are only about 30 places in the country that have a cyclotron (cost for a cyclotron is in the 150 million range) that can offer this type treatment. And only about 5 of those that specialize in prostate cancer. Fortunately UF Health in Jacksonville has a cyclotron and is one of the top facilities in the world for treating prostate cancer. Lou Melinda University in California, MD Anderson in Texas and Mass General are the others.

Side effects using proton radiation are significantly less than other types of prostate cancer treatment. I went to Jacksonville for 8 weeks for my treatment. My PSA has gone from 8.5 to <.01. I have zero side effects. No incontinence, no ED, no bowl or bladder issues. I call it my radiation vacation. I had to have 78 grays of radiation done with 39 treatments. Takes about 15 minutes for each session. The rest of the time I played golf, went to the beach, ate well, and enjoyed what Jacksonville and St Augustine have to offer. Deciding to go their for my treatment was the best medical decision I have ever made. You are treated like a guest there vs a patient. The doctors and staff are the best I have ever had anywhere.

If anyone wants to discuss this type of treatment more I will make myself available to you. PM me, send me a phone number, we can meet, however it will help you make the best decision for you.

Thanks for the good information. Hopefully I will never need it, but if my PSA ever shows up as anything but undetectable, Proton radiation will be the next option for me.