Radiotherapy advice needed please!!

[L M C]

Hi all

 

Needing some advice please.

 

Would you or anyone you know have this targeted therapy again if you had to?

 

Does anyone have any experiences when having Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer?

 

Also if anyone has any tips on what to do or not to do would be appreciated.

 

Is there anything i can buy in advance for possible side effects?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

LMC

[alternageek]

My mother had it a few years back when they discovered cancer clusters in her breasts.

Shes been clear for the last 7 years now. She liked it as it wasn't invasive and hair loss was minimal to nonexistent. She was drained, but any kind of cancer therapy is draining.

[Redstripe]

My friend had it fir breast cancer and as above the most noticeable thing was tiredness, she kept all he hair etc just needed plenty of rest so all i can suggest is just don't make loads of plans so you have time to recover.

[L M C]

Thank you for your reply's.

 

Sorry to hear both your stories, but glad they are both fine now.

 

Google is quite a scary thing, so i have abandoned it for now.

Thought it best to hear any advice from the horses mouth as the saying goes.

 

I have read about radio burns which sounds scary too.

 

LMC

 

---------- Post added 19-12-2014 at 21:56 ----------

 

My mother had it a few years back when they discovered cancer clusters in her breasts.

Shes been clear for the last 7 years now. She liked it as it wasn't invasive and hair loss was minimal to nonexistent. She was drained, but any kind of cancer therapy is draining.

 

Great news about your Mum, and long may it continue for her.

 

Hair loss is not a problem, it is thinning already due to Chemotherapy.

 

Chemo kicks the hell out of you and is completely draining too.

 

All these symptoms sound do able.

 

Thank you for the advice.

 

---------- Post added 19-12-2014 at 21:59 ----------

 

My friend had it fir breast cancer and as above the most noticeable thing was tiredness, she kept all he hair etc just needed plenty of rest so all i can suggest is just don't make loads of plans so you have time to recover.

 

 

Plans are totally non existent at the moment, just one day at a time for now.

 

 

Tiredness is completely copable, this also is a side effect of Chemo.

 

Thank you for your advice.

 

L M C

[Marshy1949]

Hi I had radiotherapy 2 years ago every day for 15 day.Best thing to use is E45 cream on your skin every time you have treatment it stops your skin getting what i could call a slight sun burn.I must have been lucky because the treatment didn't effect me at all unlike chemo which dose make you feel tired .If you are having this done at the Western Park Hospital then you will find the staff there remarkable.They explain every thing you need to know and if it is that you might be in pain while having the treatment you don't feel a thing.I wish you a speedy recovery.

[medusa]

The dosage of radiotherapy which can be delivered is determined mostly by the sort of tissue that the tumour is within, because some tissues (particularly organs) are more damaged by the radiotherapy and therefore the dosage has to be at an appropriate level.

 

I had a very large course of radiotherapy which was possible because my tumour was wrapped around the nerves to my arm just under my shoulder joint and was surrounded only by scar tissue and structural tissue and therefore there were no delicate organs near by to be damaged by the radiation. I had 42 doses of radiotherapy.

 

The burns started for me after the first 3 weeks and peaked about 2 weeks after the treatment stopped. The only way to describe the burns were if you imagine how really bad sunburn feels, including the way that your skin cracks and then peels off, but then imagine that the burn goes all of the way through you, then you sort of get the picture. Even though the skin fell off multiple times and I was left with weeping sores 3 inches across on both the front and back of my shoulder which took a couple of months to heal, they didn't hurt anything like as bad as I was expecting.

 

This it the thing though, isn't it? The FEAR of the procedure is worse than the REALITY of the procedure pretty much all of the time.

 

Please be reassured, radiotherapy is a walk in the park compared to most forms of chemo. Yes, it's tiring, and yes, it makes you sore, but that's all really.

 

What I would suggest is that if you have time, get to a dentist and have your teeth checked out and any potential decay patches sorted out before you start your radiotherapy. This is essential if you're having radiotherapy on your head or neck, but also advised for anybody having radiotherapy on your upper torso. The radiation accelerates any decay that may be starting, so if you can prevent it from affecting your teeth then that would be a good thing.

 

One of the things that I found very scary was the explanation that was part of the informed consent, which was that I needed to understand that the radiotherapy could cause tumours which are more likely to kill me than the original tumour that I had, which wasn't exactly reassuring It's what they have to tell you though, to make sure that you do have as much information as possible, and the alternative (i.e. not having the radiotherapy) could be worse still.

 

I hope you find your way through the course of treatment with few ill effects and that it helps

[L M C]

Hi I had radiotherapy 2 years ago every day for 15 day.Best thing to use is E45 cream on your skin every time you have treatment it stops your skin getting what i could call a slight sun burn.I must have been lucky because the treatment didn't effect me at all unlike chemo which dose make you feel tired .If you are having this done at the Western Park Hospital then you will find the staff there remarkable.They explain every thing you need to know and if it is that you might be in pain while having the treatment you don't feel a thing.I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

Thank you for your reply.

LMC

 

---------- Post added 22-12-2014 at 22:57 ----------

 

The dosage of radiotherapy which can be delivered is determined mostly by the sort of tissue that the tumour is within, because some tissues (particularly organs) are more damaged by the radiotherapy and therefore the dosage has to be at an appropriate level.

 

I had a very large course of radiotherapy which was possible because my tumour was wrapped around the nerves to my arm just under my shoulder joint and was surrounded only by scar tissue and structural tissue and therefore there were no delicate organs near by to be damaged by the radiation. I had 42 doses of radiotherapy.

 

The burns started for me after the first 3 weeks and peaked about 2 weeks after the treatment stopped. The only way to describe the burns were if you imagine how really bad sunburn feels, including the way that your skin cracks and then peels off, but then imagine that the burn goes all of the way through you, then you sort of get the picture. Even though the skin fell off multiple times and I was left with weeping sores 3 inches across on both the front and back of my shoulder which took a couple of months to heal, they didn't hurt anything like as bad as I was expecting.

 

This it the thing though, isn't it? The FEAR of the procedure is worse than the REALITY of the procedure pretty much all of the time.

 

Please be reassured, radiotherapy is a walk in the park compared to most forms of chemo. Yes, it's tiring, and yes, it makes you sore, but that's all really.

 

What I would suggest is that if you have time, get to a dentist and have your teeth checked out and any potential decay patches sorted out before you start your radiotherapy. This is essential if you're having radiotherapy on your head or neck, but also advised for anybody having radiotherapy on your upper torso. The radiation accelerates any decay that may be starting, so if you can prevent it from affecting your teeth then that would be a good thing.

 

One of the things that I found very scary was the explanation that was part of the informed consent, which was that I needed to understand that the radiotherapy could cause tumours which are more likely to kill me than the original tumour that I had, which wasn't exactly reassuring It's what they have to tell you though, to make sure that you do have as much information as possible, and the alternative (i.e. not having the radiotherapy) could be worse still.

 

I hope you find your way through the course of treatment with few ill effects and that it helps

 

This advice has helped alot.

Thank you

[Janet Olsen]

Hi so sorry to hear that you need treatment. I am in Australia & had my treatment here. I had lung cancer in 2004 (heavy smoker at the time) I had to have chemo & radiation at the same time. The treatment was for 2 months chemo twice a week & radiation was a 9 day fortnight. Believe me I was a mess. Slept most of the time when I wasn't at the hospital getting one or the other treatment. I completed the 2 months & had a six week break before surgery to remove what was left of the tumour. Then I had 4 more months of chemo. Radiation as expressed by another forum member is a walk in the park compared to chemo. But in saying that radiation although virtually painless, does have the side effect mentioned & possible burns, tiredness is also another side effect. I have some long term damage from the radiation however, had I not had the treatment I had, I would not be here today to talk about it. Given the choice radiation or not, my answer would be go for it. I am still alive today & have literally half my right lung missing but manage very well (don't smoke any more either). The long term effects I have are manageable. The thing is with chemo & radiation it can be considered primitive I suppose but the thing is IT WORKS. I am cancer free after 10 years

All the best with your choices & if I can assist with any further questions etc: please feel free to pm me.

Kind regards

Janet Olsen

[L M C]

Hi so sorry to hear that you need treatment. I am in Australia & had my treatment here. I had lung cancer in 2004 (heavy smoker at the time) I had to have chemo & radiation at the same time. The treatment was for 2 months chemo twice a week & radiation was a 9 day fortnight. Believe me I was a mess. Slept most of the time when I wasn't at the hospital getting one or the other treatment. I completed the 2 months & had a six week break before surgery to remove what was left of the tumour. Then I had 4 more months of chemo. Radiation as expressed by another forum member is a walk in the park compared to chemo. But in saying that radiation although virtually painless, does have the side effect mentioned & possible burns, tiredness is also another side effect. I have some long term damage from the radiation however, had I not had the treatment I had, I would not be here today to talk about it. Given the choice radiation or not, my answer would be go for it. I am still alive today & have literally half my right lung missing but manage very well (don't smoke any more either). The long term effects I have are manageable. The thing is with chemo & radiation it can be considered primitive I suppose but the thing is IT WORKS. I am cancer free after 10 years

All the best with your choices & if I can assist with any further questions etc: please feel free to pm me.

Kind regards

Janet Olsen

 

WOW Janet 10 Years:thumbsup:that's excellent, and well done to you for kicking ass!!

 

Thank you for your kind words xx