Pain and Radiation

[Excell]

Ok,, I start Radiation in January for 7 weeks, how bad is this going to hurt? Will the pain increase as I go? I’m not going to worry bout the side affects I’m actually ignoring the whole thing, I just gotta go, do this thing and I ignore the fact that I got this “thing” but it’s hard to ignore pain. I’m 55. 56 in January Happy birthday to me. Also I’m not loosing my appetite ( you know what I mean), and I’m losing weight, and not gaining. After hormones. Is this Odd?

[407ca]

I had radiation for almost 2 months. Completely painless.

With that being said, I have to ask, what was your Gleason score and PSA?

[tango65]

In my experience pain was not a problem. There was some burning feeling with bowel movements and urination but no stabbing pain. After 2 o 3 weeks the fatigue started and lasted for a couple of months after the treatment ended..

[Tall_Allen]

Hurt? Why would it hurt? The treatment itself is a big nothing. Exercise helps with both the radiation and the hormone therapy.

[Harry-B in reply to Tall_Allen]

You are amazing. Diligent, informed and empathic. I think you are a hero. Harry

[JamesAtlanta]

Not sure what type of radiation you are having. If it’s to go after a bone met, and you are in pain, it will help immensely in reducing or eliminating the pain. If it’s radiation to the prostate, there are other side effects that you can read about online.

I kept on working during all my radiation rounds. Just a 30-min stop off at the doctor each day and then off to the office.

As stated by others, radiation does not hurt. It can cause some fatigue over time. And you need to do whatever the radiation oncologist says to treat your skin (like using a moisturizing lotion). That’s it.

Hope this helps.

James

[Excell]

After my prostatectomy my psa is .2 and at last check it has stayed there for 6 months. To be honest I don’t seem to have any other side affects no Mets, no signs of the nasty little bugger other then the psa. And a Gleason of 9.

[Fairwind]

Hmmmmm. The fork in the road....Some would say wait until your PSA moves up to 0.3 before you start the radiation...But with G-9, many will say start as soon as you can and maybe add a little ADT too....It's up to you and your RO.....

[Excell in reply to Fairwind]

Ya my MO would like to start as soon as possible. So I’m just going along with it, I just want to get it over. It will be 9 months ago that I had my prostate ripped from my body.

[Cancer2x in reply to Fairwind]

Really? 0.3? My PSA is moving very slowly (for now), but hit 0.43 last time, yet no mention of radiation! Hmmm....

[RCOG2000]

I had six weeks of external beam radiation to the prostate one month after seed implant in 2000. Fatigue (mild) some irritation on urination and some mild rectal discomfort. No real pain that i recall. Did not even need a tylenol.

However disease returned in inguinal snd abdominsl lymph modes this year Compleyed eight weeks of tomotherspy radiation to affected areas last friday. Loose stools once or twice per day. Diminished appetite and significant fstigue. Discomfort in the abdominal area similar to mild discomfort from overdoing spicy foods 24/7. This responded well to mild pain med at bedtime and occasionsl medical marijuana Pain level was never out of vontrol or even close. Most days a pretty comstant 2 to 3 on the 1 to 10 scale. With one lowest noticeable and ten too high to tolerate.

Also some significant “ brain fog”. Diminished attention and concentration.

Radiation oncologist tells me this is pretty typical for this gorm of radiation treatment and that other forms have different side effect profiles

So my ecperience may be inique to my situation

[Emmett50]

My spouse (age 66) was diagnosed at PSA of 34 (up to 41 in 4 month delay to treatment) and Gleason 9. Since scans showed locally advanced cancer in lymph nodes close to prostate, he did not have surgery. He started on Casodex, followed 2 weeks later by first Lupron shot. Two months later, he began 39sessions of radiation. He had and has zero pain. About 3 weeks into radiation, he was very tired and had a few minor bouts of diarrhea. He also had some blood in urine but only a few times and in small amounts.

He, like you, has been losing weight while on ADT. His weight loss is about 35 pounds. However, he started out about 50+ pounds overweight with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. He is very slightly anemic which the MO thinks is a lingering effect of the radiation. The rest of his blood work, including PSA and T is really good. Eight months into treatment, PSA is .07 and T is <.02. He seems to be lucky in that he feels side effects of ADT are easily tolerated. His T was low to start so maybe that makes a difference. He has to pee a lot at night even with FloMax. His energy is low but he has no hot flashes. His cognition has slowed but he has always been a quick, intelligent man and most people wouldn’t notice much change.

The MO is not at all concerned about the weight loss. The scare of PCa has gotten him to be a little more careful about his diet - baby steps really but I’m happy he’s trying. He is now in the wait and see of continuing ADT for another 10-16 months, barring any changes. Then there’s a wait before scans can be done. I’m not the patient so I’m finding this time to be a challenge- not much to be done by me and only a daily pill and quarterly shots for my husband. My mother always said “Patience is a virtue.” Guess I’m not feeling too virtuous!

Good luck with radiation. I think you’re going to be surprised at how simple the process is once your radiation oncologist does the mapping. I’m a Capricorn and January baby. I’ll toast your birthday on mine and wish you an easy road with your treatment.

[charlesmeyers1964]

no pain for radiation

charlie

[Prodius]

Excell, I was under the same impression but I just finished the full round. No side effects that I can tell, and no pain. Biggest thing was getting up every morning to face the traffic jam going to the hospital and getting back to work. I was expecting the same but was real easy and would do it again on a dime.

[harryb48]

Thirty nine radiation treatments, no pain, just a little fatigue at the end of the week which was probably caused by the commute,

[Hidden]

My husband did not experience any pain. 40 treatments 5 days per week and went directly to work. Fatigue was big. Definitely tired in the afternoon

[Grumpyswife]

No problem at all. My husband was 60 y.o. and worked full time right through his 36 days of radiation plus the before and after visits to downtown Minneapolis. He has never had any pain related to prostate cancer just from surgeries.

Unfortunately, his radiation wasn't successful and now we regret not having brachy right after the EBRT to grab at the best, last chance at a cure.

[Hidden]

Understanding that everyone has a different scope of disease. Words from my Medical Oncologist after Brachytherapy and 25 sessions of IMRT and within a year of treatment, “Don’t second guess your primary treatment. It did not matter, as you had micro-metastases.”

GD

[Sparkingjoy]

Hi there, my husband had several radiation treatments and did not experience any pain. Depending on where they aim it can produce some side effects. For example John received radiation in the neck area and his throat was sore for about a week. Almost like when you have a bad cold or flu. Wishing you all the best🌿

[Excell]

Y’all have taken my fears, and once more and blown them away like white furry dandelion seeds in the wind.

[Mkeman]

If you are having radiation to the prostate ask about a new treatment technique that puts a gel like substance between the prostate and other organs to prevent burning.

[DrWrite]

Radiation doesn't hurt...except when the have to put in 'markers' but that depends on where they put them. And the weight loss is definitely hormonal. But let the doc know about that anyway.

[ctflatlander in reply to DrWrite]

I'm scheduled to have the markers put in a couple weeks in the prostate.What do you mean "depends on where they put them" ?Have a lot of anxiety on this procedure. Thank you for any advice. Bob

[j-o-h-n]

No pain for me... 39 sessions (5 X a week for 8 weeks minus 1). It was like getting an X-ray at the dentist. But years later it was discovered that it did damage to my left urinary tract.

You'll be ExcellENT...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 11/28/2018 6:39 PM EST

[5_plus_4]

"Markers" are minute tattoos they use to help the radiation techs know where to zap you. They're just a pinpoint green dot. They did use a needle on me for them and it really hurt only for a second.

[Brook5318]

No real pain except I got a case of Shingles toward the end of treatment

[Evan777]

Had 39 radiation treatments right after prostatectomy, hurt fiercely. Many radiation treatments for painful bone mets since, all of which came with increased pain until they were completed, then pain was alleviated. All treatments were for metastatic bone pain except the first 39 treatments. I am surprised to learn that for most radiation was painless.

[David2703]

Placement of 3 markers outlining the prostate was not to bad, although one hurt like hell. Mayo policy did not allow meds for pain reduction. The only other recommendation is to carry a small bag with extra clothes. I had explosive diarrhea

several times after treatments. The extra clothes came in handy.