Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Short-term Planning

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.

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