Cyberknife

[Danb595]

Currently undergoing cyberknife treatment. One more to go. Lots of urinary issues but nothing major. Anyone else have any input on this treatment?

[Tall_Allen]

I had SBRT 10 years ago. No lasting side effects.

[Danb595 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks for the reply. Good to hear that. Lots of urinary issues right now but not major.

[jazzlover2]

Dan best of luck on your treatment. Please take the time to report back to the group on your progress and experience with Cyberknife. I am seriously considering that treatment - neck and neck with seeds. Can you also reply with other options you considered and why you chose Cyberknife? My situation is: recent biopsy shows Gleason 7 (3+4) in two of 12 cores, Gleason 6 (3+3) in one core. No other cancer found. Fully contained in the prostate.

[Danb595 in reply to jazzlover2]

I finished my last cyberknife treatment this week and feel great. Only side effect was some issues with urination after the 2nd treatment so the oncologist prescribes a steroid for 10 days which took care of the problem. No other side effects at all.

I also has the spaceoar placed a week and a half before treatments and had absolutely no rectal issues at all.

I was on active surveillance for 5 years and kept up with PSA tests and biopsies. Over those 5 years I read and studied all i could about all the other type of treatments. I ruled out surgery early on because I don't think I wanted to live with incontinence to any degree along with the ed. I have talked to a number of guys in my support group who have had the surgery and I really feel for them. I also ruled out the seed approach after learning of a number of side effects that have been studied from that procedure not to mention the possibility of discomfort after the procedure.

External radiation sounded like my best possibility until I found cyberknife. External radiation as you know takes 45 treatments over about 8 weeks and the control of the radiation is more broad based low dose than cyberknife. Because cyberknife tracks the position of your prostate real time and adjust for any movement automatically was the biggest thing I felt it had going for it. Its pinpoint accuracy reduces the chance of radiation exposure to the other organs. Other than an outpatient procedure to have the 4 gold seeds placed along with the spaceoar I didn't have to undress or drop my pants one time. A surprise for me came after my simulation when the oncologist told me my cyberknife treatments would be 15 min each. They were scheduled every other day for 2 weeks and I had absolutely no downtime.

If anyone wants to know any more details just let me know. I'll be glad to share.

[aceace12 in reply to jazzlover2]

AS

[aceace12 in reply to aceace12]

did you consider proton therapy ?

[tnone]

I just finished my five sessions of Cyberknife a little more than 3 weeks ago. I've had absolutely no side effects yet. This could be because my RO has me on prophylactic Flomax for 4 weeks post-treatment. I also had the SpaceOAR gel positioned during placement of the fiducials. I've always eaten a strictly healthy (almost no beef/pork) and gluten free diet. I exercise 6+ days a week and while not scientifically proven, I think that helps me minimize any negative effects.

Best of luck to you.

[cybertreated2019]

I completed Cyber treatment in Feb, 2019. Only side effect after the first couple of weeks was some bowel urgency. No accidents, just increased urgency. Hasn't entirely stopped after seven months. I had the SpaceOar too. My positive core and score numbers were pretty similar to yours. No sexual issues other than getting past the general bad karma around PC. PSA dropped from 6.8 before treatment to 2.0 at six months. Hoping to get to a new baseline at 1 year. I don't believe PSA drops to zero with Cyber. I took prophylactic Cialis 30 days before and 90 days after treatment to preserve sexual function after reading about its effectiveness in a small study. It also provides BPH symptomatic relief. No night time urination while I was taking it. Had to go to the lowest dose, because it was producing too many erections (didn't know that was possible) and I stopped taking it a little early because a side effect of an awful metallic taste that went away when I quit taking it. I think it helped. No reason you could not start now following treatment if you give it a go. Get a coupon on GoodRx if your plan won't help pay for Cialis. It is about $100 a month with the coupon. Keep in touch.

[Danb595 in reply to cybertreated2019]

Just had my 6 month psa check up with a 2.01 result. Radiation oncologist is very happy so far. Will recheck in another 6 months and see where it is at. No side effects yet. Ongoing ed was a problem even before cyberknife. Been using trimix with pretty good results.