1 YEAR

Llama herder Antiplano/Bolivia

Camping Patagonia

I'm almost exactly 1 year post-op now and shall be going in to see my urologist next week.
Took a PSA test last week and my PSA was down to 0,23,.........wonderful news and exactly to plan!
Absolutely no more SE's and i'm thrilled with the results,which could hardly have been any better.
In all likelihood it should go down even further over the next 6 months and hopefully will remain down in that vicinity.
I keep track of another similar blog by a South African where he describes those older males who don't know their PSA ,and who simply say,...."no my quack says it's fine !" are ,.....DICING WITH DEATH.Ensure that you know (and can track) yours in order to deal with it swiftly if/when it rises more than it should!

bedtime for the bikes Cusko/Peru

10 MONTHS

Just returned from a month in Turkey and realised that i hadn't posted on this site for ages now,......mainly due to the fact that there's very little to report.
I'm amazed at the recent lack of any SE's whatsoever from my brachy treatment almost a year ago (10 months now).
I've recently got back into my bad,bad ways and the one "SE"that I might've singled out (i.e. excessive peeing when consuming alcohol) has all but disappeared,......and i'm presently getting up only once at night .
My urinary function is probably back at 90% ,.....and everything is functioning absolutely ok (almost said "perfectly",....a little unbelievable at 65 years old?)
I'm due to see my urologist again at the end of October,....armed with my PSA count at that stage.....which will take me to exactly a year afte.
I'll check in for (hopefully) a 10 minute session.
At that point I shall have spent a grand total of no more than 40 minutes with any medical people subsequent to my procedure.
I'd certainly have taken that with open arms when I eventually made the decision to go the brachytherapy route!

9 MONTHS ON??

LEAVING PIREAUS HARBOUR

CHERYL EATING AGAIN PRAGUE

SOMEWHERE IN CROATIA

STUNNING TREVISO

I have to think carefully nowadays to deduce (or even remember) where I am,and how far i've come since the "brachy" procedure was carried out 9 months ago.
I literally have no SE's to speak of here apart from the fact that I get up once (sometimes twice) at nights to have a pee.
I'm still not on any meds and my flow is improving by he day,although the night time flow seems to be a little restricted for some strange reason?
Nothing serious ,but clearly due to inactivity of the relevant "muscles" whilst sleeping,which take a minute or two to "click in".

Look,......if you'd offered me what I have a year ago,.....i'd have grabbed it with open arms!!!
I have absolutely no doubt now that my decision,albeit a very much delayed one,was the correct decision.
Haven't had a PSA test since 5 months when it registered at a most acceptable 0,7,and my next one will be when I pop in at my urologist in November for my yearly check-up.
Here's the real PLUS though,.........unlike my mates who've had RP and consequently spent half their lives with various practitioners post-op, i've been just twice over the 9 months,for 10 minutes each time,basically to thank Conray for doing such a fine job!
I've had quite a bit of feedback from my blog and have just (a few days ago) spoken to a 53 year old with G6 who was about to go through RP,........just to get rid of it??
His wife (who follows my travel blogs) had heard that I had cancer and came round to discuss it ,together with her husband.
As with most men,......he hadn't researched at all really,and wasn't aware that G6 is often regarded as a benign form of cancer ,giving him a good bit of time to look at alternatives.
Not sure what they've done,but at least they now know that there are alternatives to ripping the thing out!

7 MONTHS ON

COPAN MAYAN RUINS HONDURAS

Not too much to report really.

COPAN

All good and no debilitating side effects.

COPAN

I've got back to my evil ways and am regularly (read that daily) having a glass or two of red wine now that winters on it's way here.
I have recently gone off the only medication I had been on since the op (CELEBREX 200) which is an anti-inflammatory (mainly for my wrists) and it's resulted in me waking a little more often at nights.I was down to just once a night but am now back up to twice.
Hopefully this'll correct itself soon and I'll be back to normal,although at this age i guess it's a little much to expect to sleep through??

In a months time the radiation will have gone through its 4th half life,which basically means that the residual radiation charge will be down to around 1/16th of it's original potency,although it's theoretically still "nuking" the bad guys down there.
At this stage however it's range will have diminished considerably and so it should no longer have any effect on healthy tissue nor organs.

6,5 MONTHS POST OP

DELPHI GREECE

CHIOS GREECE

GUESS WHO?

 Today was really my 1st real consultation with my urologist,apart from the very brief one I had 6 weeks after the procedure.
I'd forwarded my much reduced PSA reading of about 1 month ago (0,75) and Conray was well pleased with that one.
Reckons it's one of the lowest he's seen after just 5 months.
As he came out from his previous consultation the Doc introduced me to a chap who is about where I was around 3 years ago,with a PSA of 6 and going for a biopsy.
This oke has obviously also done some homework and was co-incidentally investigating proton therapy.
I filled him in on the fact that DISCOVERY wouldn't sponsor it for me and that he might just as well can it and do brachy in the event that he was diagnosed (hopefully not).
He'd save himself a cool R700 000 😅
Anyway ,I carried out the flow test,which was ok i.l.o. the fact that i'd never needed to take meds,and he checked my bladder for voiding.It contained an acceptable 20 to 30 ml.
A brief chat about this and that and I was off with a very appreciative thanks to what appears to be a job well done.
I'll be back in 6 months time for a check up ,unless something untoward occurs in the meantime

BOARDING FERRY TO BARI

GENERAL

 I recently tried going off the only medication i'm taking (mainly for my "carpal tunnel wrists") to see whether it'd affect me at night.
It's an anti-inflammatory which Cheryl has been taking daily for years now,over and above her other medication,for her rheumatoid arthritis.Figured that ,if it was good for her it shouldn't do much harm to me.But i just wanted to see whether it had been beneficial ,and whether stopping wouldmake any difference.
Well,....not sure whether it was the 3 cups of strong coffee i've been imbibing every day (bad,bad boy!) or the lack of my daily anti-inflammatory ,but i ended up waking more frequently (around 3/4 times/night).
Back on them now and all well (only drinking 2 cups of coffee)!I'm waking just once (occasionally twice) and no problems peeing.
Seem to have turned a corner now,although still managing the process through ceasing drinking at 6pm and limiting my alcohol content late in the day (I start early now 😋).
Another big plus,...........(hoping my family don't read this blog) .......where i previously had a sharp pain immediately after ejaculation, now virtually no pain whatsoever,.........and all working as well as could be expected from an old fart!
I reckon i'm 85% back to where i was before the procedure.

POMPEI 2012

RIDE AROUND AMALFI 

PSA READING

SOMEWHERE IN THE KAROO

Virtually straight after my last post I decided to pop across for an impromptu PSA test to check that i''m going in the right direction (i.e. down).
The last time i did this was at my 6 week check-up with my urologist (my only contact with anyone in this regard since the op).
I had been surprised,and absolutely thrilled to report that,after 6 weeks it has receded beyond all expectations to 3,66 (from 10,33) .
I realised that i could not expect a similar plunge in the reading at this point as the rate of decline is naturally alogarithmic (i.e. opposite to logarithmic) as the strength of radiation declines.
I'm presently at around 1/8th of the original strength after almost 3 half lives.
Well,..........to get back to the original subject,it appears that my reading is now a mere 0,75!!!
I'm ecstatic as it seems that i can expect an ultimate reading after 18 months then of below 0,5,possibly less.
This is wonderful news and far beyond my expectations!

PARKING VENICE

23 WEEKS

5000m UP IN THE ANDES

 Almost 6 months on now and the nighttime frequency thing seemed to get a little worse recently.
I'd been getting up 2 to 3 times/night and then having to stay awake initially to go back each time to empty my bladder,allowing a longer period (3 to 4 hours) of sleep in between.
I half expected this effect (from threads on the net) and had just been hoping that this slight "problem" would subside with time.
Well,over the past week or two it seems to be getting better and there's absolutely no burning sensation any longer👍
With a bit of luck i'll be back to normal very shortly.
Still no meds ,except an anti-inflammatory each night (mainly for my wrists/squash)
Chery's been takinf these things (CELEBREX 200) for years now with no side effects.
Certainly beats the FLOMAX and generics thereof!Yesterday i headed off to have another PSA check and shall be picking it up today sometime.
The last one i had was at 5 weeks and indicated a PSA drop from 10,3 to 3,6.
Let's hope this one has a similar drop off!

ANDES BORDER ARGENTINA/CHILE

LANDSLIDE IN ANDES

21 WEEKS

CHIOS

 It's now been exactly 5 months since the implants and they're down to around 1/6 th of their original strength.
Any fatigue effect seems to have dissipated entirely by now but i'm finding that i'm needing to get up more often at night now ,and still have a little burning on urination.
The strange thing is that,when i get up for a leak at night nowadays,i seem unable to void my bladder on the 1st attempt and need to go back 5 minutes later,at which point it seems that i'm then able to do so,thus ensuring a gap of say 3 to 4 hours till the next visit.

It's a bit of a "ballache" and requires that i manage my nighttime drinking (especially of alcohol),but i've been a bit naughty in that i'm having 2 cups of strooong coffee each morning,and have started to drink a bit of wine at nights.
Strictly speaking i should still not be drinking these things at all until the effect of what is obviously radiation burn have healed totally.
At my last visit to my oncologist she indicated that these side effects should begin subsiding from month 6 or so and eventually revert to normal after a year or more.
As i've mentioned before........not a big deal as my day time urination habits are pretty much normal and hardly bothering me at all presently. I've still managed to stay off the FLOMAX and similar meds and am well pleased on that count as they have horrible side effects.
All in all i'm very happy so far and should be seeing my urologist next month for my 6 month visit .Only my second consultation since the procedure.
Looking forward to seeing what my PSA has gone to before that visit?

PICKING UP BIKE

AROUND CHIOS

CHIOS

16 WEEKS-ALOE JUICE!

AUSTRIAN ALPS

MONASTERY CENTRAL GREECE

TEENAGERS LEARNING GREEK DANCING

I wasn't going to post for a while,till there was an obvious change in any side effects,either good or bad.
Straight after the procedure i began having a daily bit of aloe juice mixed with pomegranate and sparkling water.Both are reputed to have powerful anti inflammatory qualities (just try rubbing aloe on a burn and you'll be impressed).
Side effects from radiation are basically caused by physical burns to surrounding areas such as the urethra,bladder,rectum etc.
It makes sense therefore to "flush" ones system out as much as possible and preferably not with alcohol or soft drinks 😒
Until i ran out of the aloe juice,after about 6 weeks, i had experienced no burning really whatsoever and really just had a greater frequency w.r.t. my urinary habits.
These gradually subsided and i've recently (depending on what i drink) managed just one nocturnal visit for some time now.
I'd had a strong burning sensation for a while now (about a month) which co-incided with me no longer adding aloe to my daily drink?
I've always obtained this juice on my fairly regular trips up to Wilderness and wasn't sure whether it was freely available in CT.
As it turns out it is and i started taking it around 10 days ago.
The burning seems to have subsided considerably over that period.
Co-incidence?........or is there something to it?
Look it makes sense as the stuff is actually passing through ones bladder and urethra....so if it has these healing powers then surely it must be beneficial in soothing and healing these radiation burns!

I'm still not on any FLOMAX or similar medication and reckon i'm starting to feel that my energy levels,previously affected by the radioactivity is improving.
I reckon it's affected my immune system as,whereas i normally am virtually immune to normal coughs,colds and flu,i've had an intermittent cough for months now which seems to come and go.
I guess the body is fighting off the effects of radiation and slacking off on other less dangerous threats?

TUSCANY

LAKE GARDA NORTHERN ITALY

14 WEEKS

LA BOCCA BUENOS AIRES

LAST LEG DAKAR ARGENTINA

I didn't think it'd be necessary to post for a while now but,as mentioned by my oncologist at 6 weeks,the "symptoms' were going to probably get worse before they improved as the effects of the stronger original radiation dose would only be felt effectively later (i.e. 2 to 5 months).
Well they appear to know what they're talking about as that's been the case.
The burning has become progressively worse over the past few weeks and my urinary function has declined somewhat recently.
I'm getting up twice a night now and battling somewhat to empty my bladder at 1st attempt (at night only).
I find myself going back to bed for 15 minutes or so,at which point it seems that a "muscle" gets going and allows me to more or less void.
The burn seems to originate pretty deep into the bladder area and appears to lessen if i drink plenty of water.
It's no big deal and hasn't got to a stage necessitating any of the dreaded medication (i.e. FLOMAX)
What's probably happened is that the original high dose is now (aside from nuking the cancer) resulting in burns inside my urethra and entry to the bladder.
Thus the burning sensation.
Apparently this should begin to fall off fairly soon (from around week 20) and resume more or less normal function thereafter??
Let's see?

Healthy cells (unlike cancer cells) have an ability to heal and repair over time and the original radiation dose is presently around 1/3 of the original....so hopefully the worst is over!

The 2nd 60 day half -life is due by week 17 resulting in just 1/4 of the original dose at that stage.

DAKAR

DAKAR

12 WEEKS

ATACAMA DESERT PERU

PATAGONIA HOTEL AND SALOON

So,it's been just over 12 weeks now and still no adverse effects (apart from those already elaborated on) and i'm still managing without medication.
Provided I stop the drinking (particularly alcohol) by 7pm,i'm managing with one nocturnal awakening (sounds erotic?) and that's about it.
The burning has probably got a little worse but mainly that 1st one after arising in the morning.
Once I start "flushing" each morning with lots of water/rooibos etc. it seems to ease off considerably.
Everything seems to be working (more or less) ok again and i'm still totally positive,and even more convinced that this was the right way to go.
I'd love to see what my latest PSA reading is ?
Last time I checked it was down to 3,6.......perhaps i'll mosey down and check it out again soon.
All in all i'm a "happy chappy"!

11 WEEKS SINCE

SNOWSTORM IN THE ROCKIES

 It's been exactly 11 weeks since my brachy and the remaining radio active potency of the beads should,by now,have reduced to close to a third of its original charge.
So any "side effects" being suffered now are a result of the effects of the original dose,which would be manifesting at this point.
As I understand it,these effects should begin to taper off after about 4 months (17/18 weeks) and hopefully be minimal by then?
Well,to be honest,they've been very manageable so far and amount to a slight burning when urinating and a bit of a problem emptying my bladder completely at night.
Depending on what I drink leading up to bedtime,I'm rising once (no alcohol) and twice if I partake😜.

CAMPING IN PATAGONIA

I'd read that I might well have experienced some diarrhoea and rectal bleeding but,so far,no such thing.
My habits in this regard have remained virtually identical and ,by 9am I've gone twice and that's it!
Pretty flatulent (more than normal) but nothing untoward.

SNOW NEAR SALT LAKE CITY

Still haven't needed to take any medication apart from my daily anti-inflammatory,more for my carpal tunnel syndrome than anything else.
Cheryl's been on these for many years since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it doesn't appear to have harmed her too much so I've decided to take them indefinitely.
I reckon (logic tells me) that they should be preventing any flare ups in the old prostate at the same time,and probably preventing any undue swelling as a result of the continuous exposure to the radiation?

SELF PORTRAIT PATAGONIA

PATAGONIA 

USHUAIA BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

PENSION USHUAIA