HDR Brachytherapy Before or After External Beam Radiation — Your Experiences?

Hello everyone: I have T3b prostate cancer and will be undergoing five weeks of external beam radiation plus HDR brachytherapy at UCSF.

My radiation oncologist is planning to do the five weeks of radiation first, followed by HDR. However, I'm concerned that radiation beforehand could cause inflammation or tissue changes that might make HDR catheter placement more difficult.

My biggest priority is minimizing side effects and complications without compromising treatment effectiveness.

For those who have undergone both treatments, which did you have first, HDR or external beam radiation? Did your doctors explain why they chose that order, and did you experience any complications, or bad side effects? My discussion with HDR dr. left me feeling a little uneasy after he talked about possible side-effects for complications. thank you..