RH, 56 - Brachytherapy

To be told by your GP that you have a PSA level equal to a man of between 70 - 79 years of age when you are 54 is not encouraging news especially when you know that your father died of prostate and liver cancer. You would also like to think that after havinga biopsy confirming you have prostate cancer the news would not come as too much of a shock - however it does!

You are then confronted with the options open to you - surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or brachytherapy, a relatively less well known procedure carried out in justa few hospitals in the UK. I researched them all. the thought of a surgical operation didn't phase me as I had undergone surgery on two previous occasions in my life - it was more the risk of ending up incontinent and/or impotent that was more of a concern.

I opted for brachytherapy, a relatively straightforward procedure for me, in hospital one day, out the next and back to work the following Monday morning. With no adverse side effects, other than a reduction in urine flow in the first three to four months, if I forgot to take the prescribed tablet each day, I am pleased to report that one year on my PSA is back to normal with no incontinence or impotence issues.

Brachytherapy I am convinced wa the right decision for me. My brother is scheduled to have the same treatment this autumn!