Imrt

My husband has recently be been told he has PC. He is currently doing on Viadur and going for IMRT consultation. PSA level is 31 and Gleason 9. Anyone at this level or who has done the IMRT?

Radiation therapy + androgen ablation would be the preferred treatment at this stage. Was surgery an option? It would not be if he had any mets. How old is he?
Best of luck !

My husband is 59. At first the doctors were all advising surgery but after they got his Gleason scores they decided surgery wouldn't do him any good and advised hormone and radiation. They say they can not cure him. He will be on some type of treatment forever. They gave us the example "If I were playing poker with you - I'm sitting holding aces and you (my husband) are holding duces. I have found this site and will continue to read all I can about the different stages, treatments, etc.

Do you know a stage of his cancer? It is possible to live a long time with prostate cancer so hang in there and keep fighting.

Hello Ester,

As you know, Lupron is available in various dosages, one-month, three month, four month, or the one-year implant known as Viadur. I wonder why the doctor suggested the one-year implant rather than the shorter term injections. I am now taking the one-month Lupron shots on an intermittent basis for six months with daily Casodex tablets and then six months of nothing. The last time around, I got the four month shot and I think that I had worse side effects: Hot flashes, pain in the legs and arms mostly at night which would wake me up, breast tenderness and enlargement. Your husband has many options, and I am confident that the Lupron implant will lower his PSA and therefore shrink the size of the tumor. Once the PSA drops to a lower level, it would then be possible for surgery, which I recommend against, or radiation, which seems to be a better treatment option. Prostate cancer can be cured with radiation, seed implants are out of the question, so it looks like one of the methods of External Beam Radiation Therapy would be appropriate. Has he already had the one year Viadur implant? I am 68, had radical prostatectomy over two years ago.

Jim

Would really need to know the stage of the disease to give in
depth details.
IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy) is a form of
radiation therapy where the radiation oncologist can control the
dose to the prostate and surrounding normal healthy tissue. This
control over the radiation is attained by computer controlled
blocking and modulation of the radiation. Since the amount of
radiation can be controlled to areas the are pre specified two
things are achieved:
1. Less radiation effects normal healthy tissue and structures
since there is precise control over the radiation, which in turn
reduces side effects.
2. Higher doses can be given for later stage disease because the
restrictions of the healthy tissue are not present as in reason 1.

More information on the subject can be found here :http://
www.prostate-answers.com/imrt.html