Questions about radiation therapy.

[aliasarchangel]

AWSOME dude!

[Jens]

we just found out we are pregnant again

Great news! Congratulations!
Man, I love when life goes on and on and on...

Best wishes
Jens

[johnseed]

my experience

Hello everyone,

Well, I chose surveillance and BLAMMO cancer came back in the form of a fast growing tumor, and then I needed chemo. Although it is not an easy call to make, I think those of you who are opting for radiation are doing the right thing as it is quite a bit easier than chemo, at least from what I read here.

Might also mention, since I am now 4 years out of chemo, that my 2 year old born after cancer is thriving and we just found out we are pregnant again, so chemo didn't tamper with my fertility.

JS

[aliasarchangel]

yeah I am just gonna get radiation....thank you guys, even thought I don't know you, I am glad I can talk to you all about this...your the only ones, so thank you.

[Scott]

...and my ball's gone!...

Well, you're in good company here with that problem!

[rjs]

First of all, as stressful as all this is, in order to make the best decision for you then you have to relax a minute and think clearly. Obviously, your doctors have recommended the radiation course as the next step in your treatment plan. There are risks associated with any treatment path. If you go with surviellance then you could have a recurrence and the treatment of radiation (or chemo) at that time will be stronger than what you will recieve now. There is a slight risk of cancer from the radiation, but my doctors assured me that the risk is very low. It seems to me from your comments that you might find the survellience route too stressful since it will require a very regimented schedule of follow-ups and tests. While you still must get follow-ups after radiation for a few years, they are not as often as surveillence. I chose radiation because it gave me peace of mind that I was doing something and not waiting for something to happen. My follow-up schedule is now every 4 months for 2 years and CT scans twice a year. (I do get bloodwork and x-rays at every follow-up). 4-6 weeks after radiation I was feeling good and have since gotten my life "back to normal". The comments in the above posts are accurate. Seminoma - Stage 1 is the best diagnosis and the most annoying because you actually have to make some tough decisions. But the good news is that there is no wrong decision (the only wrong decision would be to do nothing and not show up for follow-ups). While each choice may eventually lead you down different paths, in the end, they usually all lead to a full cure. Hang in there, stay strong, and keep your head up as you move forward. This will soon be a distant memory.

[aliasarchangel]

Your saying, the thing that is suppose to make this cancer go away, can accualy cause more cancer?...GREAT....I Don't wanna get radiation, but I feel like I need to, just in case.you know?.....I think I am just gonna do it. I know its a small chance that it can come back but...I wanna get this all over with, This stupid thing has sorta derailed my life. Nothing is going right. It's messed up alot o things..SO after these 3 weeks everything can be normal again...I'v been to the doctors in the past 2 months more then I have been in my whole life, 8 strangers have felt me up, my balls gone!, my friends abandoned me, I can't go back to school cus I missed too much of class so this whole semester was a waste, my balls gone!...The stress from all of this has gave me an ulcer which hurts like hell and I have to take 20 freggin pills a day...and now I have to take this stupid radation.....and my balls gone!......sorry for this rant everyone...and hijacking this thread.

[Fish]

Stage 1 Seminoma is probably the best and also most annoying diagnosis you can get, particularly if you have no elevation in tumor markers. You're never quite sure what treatment path to take. Fortunately all the paths lead to a cure in 99.9% of cases.

MY PERSONAL OPINION
Too many men are being needlessly irradiated.
Radiation is not risk free and can increase the chance of other cancers later in life.

So how do you decide what to do? There have been some factors ASSOCIATED with increased/decreased risk of spread at the time of the orchiectomy. If I remember correctly the factors are age, size of tumor, and presence of lymphatic/vascular invasion.

Risk of spread for seminoma is lower if:
age is greater than 35
tumor is less than 4cm in diameter
there is no lymphatic or vascular invasion.
(someone please correct me if I got these wrong)

Of course any combination of these factors could be present and make the decision very complicated.

In my case, I was 42, the tumor was 7-8mm (very small) and there was no lymphatic or vascular invasion. My blood tests and CT scans were normal.
I chose surveillence. If I have a recurrence, then I'll get radiation (or maybe chemo). But before I subjected my body to any treatment, I wanted to know that it was absolutely necessary.

Ultimatley it's your choice, and I know it's not an easy decision. Surveillence requires an absolute commitment to stick to your schedule for tests.

Best wishes, thoughts, and prayers,

Jim

[aliasarchangel]

Ok, My case is the same as the guy who started this thread. ( stage 1 seminoma, clean blood test and ct scans)...You guys were mentioning survaliance and radiation and why is he getting radiation?....well since my case is the same as his, Should I be getting radiation? or just be watchful?....radation won't harm me will it?...like on a long term basis?...like, theres no harm in getting radiontion is there?....What should I do?...I havent started radiation but on monday I do.

[huckchef]

glad to hear it!! stay positive and move forward in life. the next best thing is to keep all your scheduled appointments for follow-ups and dont miss them. these are very important as to keeping this thing suppressed!! best of luck and god bless!!

[cts]

Well, I had my last treatment yesterday. I did notice the fatigue after the 1st couple of treatments and I thought I was going to make it all the way thru without anything else but I didnt.

This past Saturday I started getting stomach aches and it has gotten worse each day since. Today has been the worse. The doctor said it could go away in a few days or it could take weeks. I have a call into him now to see if there is some over-the-counter or prescription meds I can take.

Other than that all went well and I'm happy to be done.

Thanks for the replies.

[Neandertal]

Well, 3 treatments down 7 to go. The machine was actually down 2 days this week so I didn't get the full 5 in. So far, the only thing I've really noticed is fatigue but I did come down with a terrible cold mid week so it might also be related to that.

So far, so good. I can't wait until this is all over. Thanks for the replies.

I was going to recomend a probiotic supplement in addition to the glutamine you're already taking so as to prevent a cold, but looks like I read this too late. The probiotics have helped me considerably in getting my digestive tract back to relative strength. I managed to catch a nasty cold too immediately after the treatments ended. Perhaps megadosing Vit. C (>2grams) will help. Best of luck to you.

[huckchef]

its great that things are underway and going smoothly!!!! are they doing blood work weekly to check white blood count? this would help prevent other complications like colds and flu, etc.. its kinda creapy when they close that door and no one wants to be around you..isnt it??!! i thought man what is this stuff like.......two foot lead door, all these shields and i'm the only one in here!!!!! glad your doing good...stay positive and god bless! brian

[cts]

Well, 3 treatments down 7 to go. The machine was actually down 2 days this week so I didn't get the full 5 in. So far, the only thing I've really noticed is fatigue but I did come down with a terrible cold mid week so it might also be related to that.

So far, so good. I can't wait until this is all over. Thanks for the replies.

[ballsup]

G'day Cts

I had 4 weeks of radium and extra doses on the abdominal scar,I did have nausea but not to the point of actually throwing up. More like dry wretching at times.I was lucky in one way because I worked at the hospital so there was no travelling apart from my days off which were Monday and Tuesday( pissed me off going in on my days off )
Apart from losing all my chest hair which grew back no problem I had no skin worries apart from slight burning over the abdominal scar where I had the higher doses.
I did have a problem with diarrhoea for some days but this was quickly cured with medication.
Keep in mind I had this back in the very early 80's and treatments have come a long way since then.
Keep us informed on how you are going.
Cheers Paul