Terminology & Definitions

Here's what I know--

HT --Hormone Therapy used to stop testosterone production(Lupron and Casodex are 2 of the drugs used)  wet--incontinent   dry--no longer incontinent   margins--the edges of prostate are clear of cancer if it says margins clear

I may be wrong about margins, but I am pretty sure.

IMRT is short for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. The intensity of the radiation in IMRT can be changed during treatment to spare more adjoining normal tissue than is spared during conventional radiation therapy. Because of this an increased dose of radiation can be delivered to the tumor using IMRT. Intensity modulated radiation therapy is a type of conformal radiation, which shapes radiation beams to closely approximate the shape of the tumor.

Margins refer to the area immediately adjacent to the prostate but outside of the actual organ itself. Positive margins are not good as that means the PCa has escaped the capsule of the prostate.

BiMix refers to a 2 part compound of chemicals injected into the penis to acheive erection. A related topic is TriMix.

IM is the Intensity Modulated. A Google search on IMRT will explain the term.

Dry/Wet would refer to continence or lack of same. A big issue for some.

VED is a vacuum erectile device or a pump to help restore and maintain blood flow.

HT is referring to Hormone Therapy.

Bimix: A low-cost mixture of two drugs injected directly into the penis. (Papaverine and Phentolamine.) They relax the muscles that allow blood flow into the penis and so create an erection. Trimix and Caverject add a third drug to the mixture.

VED: Vacuum Erection Device, or pump. A tube that creates a partial vacuum around the penis, encourages blood to flow into it and so create and erection. Once erect, a constriction ring stops the blood flowing out again, which it can do very quickly!

Margins: Surgeons like to take some extra tissue from around the prostate along with the prostate itself. These are the margins. If the margins are clear or negative, it is good sign as it indicates the PCa has not extended into them and probably not beyond them. Positive margins, despite the term, are not so positive -- they mean that PCa is in the margins, and may have spread beyond them.