Posted 7/5/2008 4:18 PM (GMT -6)
Greetings All
Following my last visit to my urologist, when he told me he knew nothing at all about Proton Radiation Therapy, I was quite fortunate in that the radiation oncologist he referred me to knew quite alot about it, and in the end recommended I go to the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute.
What a joy it is to encounter a happy, personable, knowledgeable doctor who actually has time to listen to me. It's been too long for me, for sure. My follow-up PSA was back up to 10.6, so there is some urgency to begin a treatment. I asked all the questions I could think of and he answered them all satisfactorily. He said he thought his treatments with IMRT would yield about the same results as PBRT, but that there could be more severe side effects, such as rectal burn. Finally, when I told him I felt the Proton treatments would be best for me, he suggested I go to UFPTI.
Tomorrow I will start the admission process by forwarding all my tests and records, and then a few weeks wait for a consultation appointment. If accepted, then another 4/5 weeks for a workup, and then another 4/5 weeks before the treatment actually begins. There will likely be 44 treatments over a two month period.
I'll try to keep up a weekly log, and post whatever seems might be of benefit. Those seeking treatment options should consult the YANA site for hundreds of personal histories of patients and their results. This site is of tremendous value in choosing a treatment:
http://www.yananow.net/Experiences.html