This morning PTI notified me that my Simulation
visit will be on May 2 and 3. This will include a couple of somewhat invasive
procedures during which they will inject the liquid that will become the
SpaceOAR (a semi-solid substance that separates the prostate from the lower intestine
for three months or so). During the same “visit” they will implant the
fiduciaries, three small gold markers on my prostate (so its location can be precisely
located during each day’s treatment). The next day they will build the body
mold that will hold me in the same position for each treatment, design the
collimator that will shape the proton beam to match my prostate, and finish my
treatment plan.
The Treatment phase will begin about two weeks after that, and will
last for either 5 1/2 or 8 weeks. By May 3, I will know which.
Meanwhile, it’s been a month since I got the
ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy Shot). It hasn’t been as bad as I feared it
might be. I’ve had a few “hot flushes” and I’m a little fatigued now and then,
but I’m still doing my daily two-mile run or walk. The pituitary gland has shut
down my testosterone production as much as it’s going to, so I shouldn’t feel
any worse for the duration.
