The Decision

This is all foreign to me. It’s confusing. It’s scary. And it’s stressful. Understanding it all helps me to make some sense out of it. And writing about prostate cancer helps me understand it. (Most of you already know that I am a concrete sequential learner)

What treatment I decided, you ask. (The answer should be obvious since you already know I don’t like pain, but I will tell you anyway) Well, after weighing all the pros and cons of each of treatment plan, and with much consternation and prayer, I elected to do the radiation treatment. Radiation treatment uses high-energy to damage cancer cells so that they cannot multiply. But in doing so, some good cells are also damaged. But the good cells that are damaged can repair themselves while the damaged cancer cells cannot repair themselves. And therein is the theory behind radiation treatment. (One of treatment team members told me that)

Remember earlier I told you that there are two types of radiation treatment. One is external and one is internal. In external radiation, also called beam radiation therapy, radiation is given from a very big machine much like an x-ray machine. With internal radiation therapy, radioactive pellets, called “seeds” are injected into the prostate gland with a long sharp needle. (It hurts me just talking about it) Both radiation types work about the same in curing prostate cancer. Like told you before, I am a wimp and will avoid pain when possible. So I chose the external beam radiation therapy. But seriously it wasn’t all about avoiding the pain. It was the best choice for me considering my circumstances.

I started radio therapy last week, the Tuesday after Labor Day. I get machine therapy five days a week. I don’t need anesthesia and there is no pain. The side effects are milder than the side effects that can come with the seed implant. My daily treatment sessions last less than thirty minutes. I get to come home afterwards, with minimum side effects so far, and continue with my daily routines.

Normally an external radiation treatment plan last for about seven weeks or 35-36 daily treatments; however, I elected to become involved in a “clinical trial” or “protocol” as called by the UW Clinics. The protocol I am involved with, like other trials, is used to research new ways of treating people with prostate cancer. Instead of the normal seven week treatment plan, my protocol last for only 3 ½ weeks. I receive slightly more radiation on a daily basis than a person would on a normal plan. But in the end I receive about the same amount of radiation as they would.

As I said before, my Web Log gives me an opportunity to understand all of this stuff. I keep a personal daily journal about all of my experiences in the clinic and about my circumstances. Keeping the journal helps me to better complete several required surveys and it helps me to verbalize what I am dealing with. It’s a way for me to internalize it all. And maybe in some small way my writings will help someone else who may find themselves in a similar situation. It is my contribution to the betterment of my protocol.