And It Seems We Are On Starting Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5, 2019 ........No, Really!

I met with the lead radiation oncologist working my case today and he reviewed the MRI and CT scan single shots as well as the overlay of the two. My goal was to understand exactly what we were radiating (killing), what the bleedover into normal organs/tissue would be, double checking that we were on the same page as far as maximum GYs (radiation dosage) to be delivered over the 5 sessions and once again verifying side effects that I should expect.

The RadOnc had already agreed a lower dosage of 35gy (7 gy x 5 sessions) rather than the 36.25 gy which is usually protocol.  We confirmed that today.  He also showed me the pictures, or as I prefer to call them, the road map.  The MRI slices as well as the CT scans, especially when combined, gave me a really clear view of my anatomy, the gold markers, the SpaceOAR (which is doing an amazing job of pushing the rectun away from the target zone of the prostate).  That's the REALLY good news.  I felt like that this procedure would help keep radiation away from my poop zone and the MRI sure seems to confirm that.  The RadOnc said he still thinks I'll have issues there. I, on the other hand, feel that if I have ANY, they'll be mild. This RadOnc is not the one who implanted all this gold and polyethylene glycol in my pelvis and I sense jealousy with the guy who DID do the implants.  And that's silly because the Doc who did the implants urged me to see this other RadOnc if I was considering SBRT as he felt he was the best in the field in the area.

Silly damned physicians.

It seems I've been heard regarding the couple of issues I had concerns about and that makes me happy that I asserted myself after having been seemingly ignored.  It seems the concerns have been addressed department wide and that means the next person might have it a bit better.  And that makes it worthwhile to me if I can save the next poor bloke from a similar lack of listening,  In a medical setting, men have as much desire to be treated with dignity as women do.

Tomorrow at 4pm PST, I'll get my first session of SBRT.  I'm told that if I do have side effects, they'll likely come after session 4 or 5. I'll likely have a sense of urgency to urinate and a burning sensation when I do. The urgent sensation will happen even with an empty bladder it seems.That should be fun.

Onward.