“F” GOD

[_RockSlider]

Gunnar,

I remember well getting my tattoos and wondering what in the world awaited. Having rectal cancer, mine are also one on each side of my hips and one deep midline. For some reason these tiny tattoos are important to me and I was upset when the several later surgeries midline incisions almost obliterated my central dot. Like in the movie Jaws where they have a scar show off contest, I one day was among a group who were showing off their tats. Upon loosening my belt and pulling one side of my pants way low, I showed off mine. There was only one man who truly understood, but most were slow to get what it was all about and soon it seemed I had won the contest with my small blue dots over their more exotic and beautiful ones.

The staff was so understanding, these people are the best! They will have you lay on a small towel which they use to move you into alignment of the dots with the lasers. The machine that rotates you 360 degrees is amazing, as the 3 dimensional mapping from the cat scan directs the radiation as precisely as possible to the cancerous 3 dimensional organ area.

The daily wait was very short, the treatment only a few minutes. The puzzle in the waiting room providing some distraction as you meet and share with others passing through, the great anxiety of this experience. I felt worse for those with throat cancers, god radiation was horrible for them. For me, the worst of the weeks of radiation was diarrhea and a super sunburned asshole.

The radiation was not so bad for me, and I hope it is the same for you. The ominus room across the way, with the luxurious recliners awaited with even greater anxiety of what was yet ahead. I think prostate cancer treatments are more about the radiation than the chemo, is this true for you? I hope so.

It's been 7 years now for me. Perhaps things have changed for the better for others with our scientific/medical progress over this time. At diagnosis time, based on the type and stage of the cancer, my surgeon looked up on the statistical charts and gave me my odds of survival past 5 years (I had a 60% chance of survival, 40% chance of not making it). It was that 5 year anniversary, with 2 years of it being absolute hell (radiation, chemo, 4 major surgeries) that one looked with anticipation towards. In-the-day, if one made that anniversary, with no further signs of the cancer, they were considered cancer free. Cancer sucks. I say “F” cancer, to hell with God.

[Guest]

Rockslider. You are a warrior. I'm glad to read you battled your way through this thing. Thanks for sharing.

- Doc

[_Gunnar]

Gunnar,

I remember well getting my tattoos and wondering what in the world awaited. Having rectal cancer, mine are also one on each side of my hips and one deep midline. For some reason these tiny tattoos are important to me and I was upset when the several later surgeries midline incisions almost obliterated my central dot. Like in the movie Jaws where they have a scar show off contest, I one day was among a group who were showing off their tats. Upon loosening my belt and pulling one side of my pants way low, I showed off mine. There was only one man who truly understood, but most were slow to get what it was all about and soon it seemed I had won the contest with my small blue dots over their more exotic and beautiful ones.

The staff was so understanding, these people are the best! They will have you lay on a small towel which they use to move you into alignment of the dots with the lasers. The machine that rotates you 360 degrees is amazing, as the 3 dimensional mapping from the cat scan directs the radiation as precisely as possible to the cancerous 3 dimensional organ area.

The daily wait was very short, the treatment only a few minutes. The puzzle in the waiting room providing some distraction as you meet and share with others passing through, the great anxiety of this experience. I felt worse for those with throat cancers, god radiation was horrible for them. For me, the worst of the weeks of radiation was diarrhea and a super sunburned asshole.

The radiation was not so bad for me, and I hope it is the same for you. The ominus room across the way, with the luxurious recliners awaited with even greater anxiety of what was yet ahead. I think prostate cancer treatments are more about the radiation than the chemo, is this true for you? I hope so.

It's been 7 years now for me. Perhaps things have changed for the better for others with our scientific/medical progress over this time. At diagnosis time, based on the type and stage of the cancer, my surgeon looked up on the statistical charts and gave me my odds of survival past 5 years (I had a 60% chance of survival, 40% chance of not making it). It was that 5 year anniversary, with 2 years of it being absolute hell (radiation, chemo, 4 major surgeries) that one looked with anticipation towards. In-the-day, if one made that anniversary, with no further signs of the cancer, they were considered cancer free. Cancer sucks. I say “F” cancer, to hell with God.

Thanks, RockSlider. I found that quite interesting and informative. My oncologist assures me that it is unlikely that I will experience any significant discomfort from the radiation treatment itself. She confirms that I may experience some diarrhea towards the end of the treatment, but that is not certain, and more likely that I won't. I may also experience feelings of mild fatigue, but not everyone does. She doesn't anticipate a need for chemotherapy, in my case, which is reassuring. The scariest thing you mentioned in your case was the "super sunburned asshole." No one has said anything about that to me. I hope that is less likely for me, given that I have prostate, not rectal cancer.

[_RockSlider]

Well let's see that prostrate is right up the ass and close to the balls. I'd suggest laying real damn still after they align you! Hehe

[_Gunnar]

Well let's see that prostrate is right up the ass and close to the balls. I'd suggest laying real damn still after they align you! Hehe

Advice well taken! I just hope I'm still in a laughing mood when I'm well into my treatment regimen!

[_malkie]

Excellent news, Kevin.

[_malkie]

Thanks again for your encouragement! It turned out that today's appointment was not for actual radiation treatment. It was a CT scan and a simulation to place the tattoos that along with the fiduciary markers already installed by my urologist will determine how best to aim the radiation beam. The actual daily irradiation starts two weeks from now, and will continue five days a week for about nine weeks.

It's about 9 years now since I got my treatment - a combination of high-dose-rate brachy followed by 3 weeks of daily external beam radiation.

I was a T2a, Gleason 7.

I experienced some fatigue, as you mentioned in an earlier post, and a bit of "sunburn" on my lower hair line . I also had some bowel issues that cleared up a few weeks after the external radiation.


My PSA levels declined steadily over the next 6 years (apart from a blip after 18 months or so - very common, apparently), and I'm now considered completely out of danger.

The class I teach has some pretty tough folks - both male and female, sometimes including students who are court-mandated to attend - and more than a few have tattoos. I get a bit of mileage out of telling them that I have 4 tattoos, but all in places that I don't display in public. Then I say no more and let them speculate.

The young woman who prepped me for my tattoos kept apologising - it was her first time shaving a man down there, and her supervisor was watching closely. I asked if I could come back later for a trim-up. She blushed the most exquisite shade of scarlet

I wish you as successful an outcome as I have had.

[_Gunnar]

Thank you, malkie!

[_Jersey Girl]

Can you have some kind of topical numbing cream for the sunburned areas?

[_malkie]

Can you have some kind of topical numbing cream for the sunburned areas?

The radiation techs recommended a non-oily over-the-counter cream for me. I used it a few times. Aloe vera is also supposed to be good.

Some people have no issues - others (!!) are just very sensitive (in lots of ways), and benefit from a little soothing (in lots of ways )