Originally Posted by
Trsnrtr
Radiation and hormone therapy are probably the only way that you will stay on the bike but neither of those is a picnic, either. External beam radiation can carry severe side effects, though rare. Unluckily, my highly aggressive cancer came back 6 years after a radical prostatectomy, necessitating external radiation and hormone therapy. I now have a damaged rectum that has been repaired and am having cystoscopy in a couple weeks to determine if I also have radiation/scar damage to my bladder. I'm the poster boy for the worst case scenario.
If my doc told me that I could have brachytherapy and I'd only be off the bike 4 weeks, I'd go for it. Your sex life will be better and you'll have way less complications. Count your lucky stars and do it. I was never offered brachytherapy due to a 5 element in my Gleason score, a small prostate, and the non-containment of the disease.
Good luck!
I also had the radiation and hormone therapy (2008) but it was augmented with brachytherapy (77 isotopes). I opted for the orthoscopic surgery but was told it wasn't an option because of my leukemia. So far, I have not had any major issues from the radiation therapy. A new option is Cyber Knife, which came out after my treatments were completed. There are a lot of treatments available for prostate cancer, none of which should be influenced by time off the bike. Treatment should be determined by the severity of the cancer and your your ability to handle the treatment. Do lots of your own research and determine which treatment is right for you.