My prostate cancer and brachytherapy treatment

Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Erman was born in Basilicata, Italy, and worked in the chemical industry for about 35 years. He married a "beautiful girl" - in his own words, when he was 25 years old and has spent 48 years with her. They have two children: Annalucia and Giampiero. "Annalucia has twin girls who are my life now", he said, "Until two years ago, with all my ailments I managed to soldier on."

The day that each patient discovers that they have cancer is always a hard day. They know that difficult times are coming dealing with all emotions and treatment isn't easy for the patient and their family. Each patient deals with cancer treatment differently. Brachytherapy is a treatment option for prostate cancer that should give them hope.

Erman told us about these days. From a blood test, his doctor found out that there was something that wasn't good at all. His PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) was 13, when the normal range is between 1.0 and 1.5 ng/ml. He was sent to the hospital immediately. The doctor who examined him asked for a biopsy right away on his prostate, because she thought something was wrong. "When the result arrived, my whole world collapsed", said Erman. He found out that day he was a prostate cancer patient.

Discovering Brachytherapy

The first doctor said he couldn't be operated on because he wouldn't survive the operation. "You can imagine how I felt," he told us. A second doctor gave him some hope. After the examination, the interventional radiation oncologist told him there was something that they could do. He would perform the operation, which was a Brachytherapy procedure, something that he had never heard of before then.

When the patient has knowledge about the treatment, everything can feel a little bit lighter. Being in the dark can be scary. Our challenge is that everybody who can benefit from Brachytherapy needs to know that it exists and how it can be applied.

"The day of Brachytherapy arrived: my heart was full of hope but I was very scared. When the doctor who performed the operation reassured me that everything went well, I was reborn." Listening to how Erman was reborn is something that we share in our community. Everybody in Brachytherapy works hard so more patients have the opportunity to feel like Erman. It motivates us to give our best.

The efficiency of Brachytherapy treatment and the agility with which the patient returns to his life makes all the difference. Erman said that "after few days of Brachytherapy, I already felt better, apart from a little discomfort in urinating. I already felt much better, but mostly I felt relaxed, and I was happy to have my normal life back."

Because of this, we want to tell real stories like Erman's to everybody who is dealing with cancer at this moment since it is important that they can understand a little bit more about Brachytherapy and its benefits. We hope that this message reaches many patients and helps people globally.

"I want to encourage anyone who suffers from the same disease as me to find a doctor who performs Brachytherapy because you will come out of it happy, as happy as I am", reaffirmed Erman.

Discover more about Brachytherapy by downloading the Prostate Cancer Patient Guide.

If you know someone who can benefit from Brachytherapy, please, share the AboutBrachytherapy website with them.

Read about other prostate cancer patients' experience of Brachytherapy