I came within 18 hours of chemical castration (aka ADT, which they euphemistically like to call "hormone therapy") which is typically done in conjunction with external beam radiation. Neither my urologist nor my radiation oncologist ever suggested that avoiding chemical castration via brachytherapy might be an option. Via lots of research, I cancelled the hormone shot and now am scheduled for HDR brachytherapy. Luckily for me, my caner is small enough and localized enough that this has a good chance of being a successful monotherapy. For those out there who have been told they need external beam radiation with hormone suppression, I urge you to investigate the long term effects of chemical castration..... from what I can tell, you will never be the same. Logically, brachytherapy (either low dose permanent seeds which deliver a higher dose in the long run, or high dose which is a quick but very strong 2-session exposure) makes a lot of sense as it delivers radiation most directly to the location of the cancer. There are also side effects to brachytherapy, of course. These include urinary problems (relatively short term) but these side effects PALE in comparison to chemical castration. PLEASE do your own research and do NOT just accept what the first doc says. A doctor is very likely to recommend the thing that they are specialized in, be it surgery, external beam radiation with chemical castration, or brachytherapy. This is not like being treated for a broken leg where the solution is a no-brainer.... YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
Thank you for showing the differences between therapies. What everyone wants to know are the prevalence of side effects. Does HDR of less bowel, urinary, and ED issues? What are the post-outcomes (side effects) compacted to EBRT and surgery?
Interesting that nothing is said how this treatment will affect a patient's quality of life. For example, will the patient have ED, have urination issues, constant pain, heart problems, etc.. I would not want to be injected with such a dangerous therapy. Is this all the medical community has come up with for treatments today? Maybe people should investigate "fasting" to starve the cancer spoken about by Dr. Seyfried.
It's a 15-minute video on one aspect. There are any number of videos and papers on those subjects if you want to understand the percentages of those outcomes. I think you need to do a little more investigation about this and other treatments before you can use the word dangerous. Plus, there are any number of treatments out there besides HDR and LDR brachytherapy. Two brothers had LDR over 20 years ago and are doing just fine. Like any treatment of any kind including, I would imagine "fasting", how it affects the individual person is the crapshoot we all have to live with. Not every food, medicine or any number other worldly items reacts the same in every person. What is sublime for one person is deathly for another. The human body kind of works that way and doubt doctors will ever get a complete understanding of it.
I came within 18 hours of chemical castration (aka ADT, which they euphemistically like to call "hormone therapy") which is typically done in conjunction with external beam radiation. Neither my urologist nor my radiation oncologist ever suggested that avoiding chemical castration via brachytherapy might be an option. Via lots of research, I cancelled the hormone shot and now am scheduled for HDR brachytherapy. Luckily for me, my caner is small enough and localized enough that this has a good chance of being a successful monotherapy. For those out there who have been told they need external beam radiation with hormone suppression, I urge you to investigate the long term effects of chemical castration..... from what I can tell, you will never be the same. Logically, brachytherapy (either low dose permanent seeds which deliver a higher dose in the long run, or high dose which is a quick but very strong 2-session exposure) makes a lot of sense as it delivers radiation most directly to the location of the cancer. There are also side effects to brachytherapy, of course. These include urinary problems (relatively short term) but these side effects PALE in comparison to chemical castration. PLEASE do your own research and do NOT just accept what the first doc says. A doctor is very likely to recommend the thing that they are specialized in, be it surgery, external beam radiation with chemical castration, or brachytherapy. This is not like being treated for a broken leg where the solution is a no-brainer.... YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
Thank you. This contained some detail on the HDR boost procedure that I haven’t come across elsewhere. Very helpful.
Thank you for showing the differences between therapies. What everyone wants to know are the prevalence of side effects. Does HDR of less bowel, urinary, and ED issues? What are the post-outcomes (side effects) compacted to EBRT and surgery?
Interesting that nothing is said how this treatment will affect a patient's quality of life. For example, will the patient have ED, have urination issues, constant pain, heart problems, etc.. I would not want to be injected with such a dangerous therapy. Is this all the medical community has come up with for treatments today? Maybe people should investigate "fasting" to starve the cancer spoken about by Dr. Seyfried.
It's a 15-minute video on one aspect. There are any number of videos and papers on those subjects if you want to understand the percentages of those outcomes. I think you need to do a little more investigation about this and other treatments before you can use the word dangerous. Plus, there are any number of treatments out there besides HDR and LDR brachytherapy. Two brothers had LDR over 20 years ago and are doing just fine. Like any treatment of any kind including, I would imagine "fasting", how it affects the individual person is the crapshoot we all have to live with. Not every food, medicine or any number other worldly items reacts the same in every person. What is sublime for one person is deathly for another. The human body kind of works that way and doubt doctors will ever get a complete understanding of it.
Bit technical for the layman, suddenly finding himself in the deep end; but very informative, and helpful