Robert was treated with LDR Brachytherapy in 2023

With a physically demanding career, and an active life outside of work, swimming, bushwalking, and riding his motorbike, Robert (63) was thankful to be offered a prostate cancer treatment that had few side effects, whilst still being highly effective:


“With the prostate, it affects so many things in your life. So, when I had a treatment option that was not very invasive with minimal side effects, I thought it was worth investigating. After discussing it with both of my specialists, I decided to go that way.”


Based in Victoria, Robert underwent focal low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021.
His cancer was picked up following a routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening test.


“I just did my yearly blood test with my local GP, and it came back with a PSA result that was a bit high. So, we spent a little while monitoring it, and when it didn’t come down, he referred me to a urologist. He did a biopsy, and we did a 12-month watch and wait to see what it would do. It then came to a stage where we needed to actually do something about it.”


Robert was then referred to another urologist due to the nature of his cancer.


“My case was a bit unusual. Generally, with prostate cancer, I suppose the best way to describe it is freckles all through the prostate, which means you have brachytherapy, radiation, or removal. With mine, it was localised in one very small spot, so they were able to do focal low dose brachytherapy directly targeted the cancer itself, not the whole prostate.”


Robert was drawn to focal LDR brachytherapy as a less invasive treatment with fewer side effects and found that the procedure and recovery time were manageable.


“The procedure to insert the seeds is virtually identical to the biopsy, so everything was very straightforward. That procedure was just a day visit to hospital and there was virtually no, or very little, side effects.”


“I wouldn’t say I was in any pain because during all the follow-up conversations I had with the team when they did their survey, they were always asking about painkillers and I never took one.”


He was able to return to some normal activities the day after the procedure, and only needed a short time away from his job, running a mill at a local quarry.


“The only problem I have with my job is it’s very physical, up and down stairs, climbing in and out of trucks and loaders all day. Because of the location of the procedure, it is a bit tender, so I had to take a few days off, whereas if you had an office job or something along those lines, you could go back to work the next day without a problem.”


After his treatment, Robert was able to get back to hobbies he enjoys quickly.


“I like riding my motorbike, but for the first few weeks afterwards things were a bit tender, so that was only a short little ride now and again. But other than that, activities like going for a walk, going swimming, and bushwalking, were not a problem.”


Robert believes awareness, information, and support, are very important for men to know about prostate cancer, get diagnosed early, and to get the best treatment option for them.


“You hear about the (other) treatments, and they can have far reaching consequences; I mean incontinence and erectile dysfunction and bowel problems can all come at varying degrees depending on treatment. And for a guy it gets quite scary, and naturally a lot of guys don’t want to talk about it.”


“I’ve made it a little bit of a mission that I never hid it from my circle of friends. And I talked to mates about it and stirred them up, ‘have you gone and got your PSA done?’ Just to get it out there and be more aware.”


“Some things have changed with my functions, but I wouldn’t say they’re bad. After the treatment the team asks about sexual functions, the bladder, and the bowel. The last question they asked me in their survey is, could you live happily like this for the rest of your life? And I answered, yes.”