Guest GoldenLove Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 My sister was diagnosed with extensive SCLC in January, 2004. She found out today that the brain metastasis is back and she will probably have to have whole brain radiation. I would like to know what to expect as I am one of the 2 primary caregivers for her. I have lurked for along time but have always found this place to be such an inspiration of hope and love. Thanks, Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBeth Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi Linda, I have absolutely no idea if the reaction to whole brain radiation is different when the lung cancer being treated is small cell vs. non-small cell; but my husband endured wbr in October 04 for NSCLC with mets to the brain and he felt really good during the treatments; however, almost as if his body knew it was okay, the day after his final treatment he went to bed and pretty much stayed there for almost two weeks....literally. He had about a zero appetite having to force down vitamin shakes and an occassional (very)low grade fever in addition to his fatigue. Not trying to scare you, everyone reacts differently; but when it did finally hit him, it scared the hell out of me. After about 2 weeks, he slowly began getting his strength and appetite back and feels wonderful now. I hope your sister endures the treatment well and gets good results. Let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi Linda Like Beth's husband, Mum had WBR for NSCLC. I am happy to report that she found the treatments to be no trouble, and she has been fine in the couple of weeks since completing the radiation. She is reducing the amount of steroid she is taking, and this tends to make her feel a little bit down, but other than that, she is AOK!!! Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi Linda, My husband has NSCLC and had whole brain radiation to 8 mets, and stereotactic radiation for 6 remaining mets. He did just fine with all of it. Many people on here have suffered with fatigue, but for some reason, he didn't. He did really well. The only thing was that for several weeks or more after the treatment, he was a little slow to respond and repeated himself sometimes. This really scared the wits out of me, but it eventually stopped, and he's fine now. He lost his hair on about the 8th day after the treatments started. The day it started to fall out, he took a paper plate and went in the bathroom and pulled out the rest of it. We made a big joke out of it because he didn't have much to start with. Hope that helps. Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi Linda, My mom had preventative radiation to the brain for small cell and the two main things i remember were that they told her that there may be some short term memory lose and trouble doing math down the road, but to help combat that she was suppost to read a lot and do a lot of figures in her head. Mom did get very forgetful , but she never was much of a reader! At this point is when ALL of her hair came out. She did really well with the radiation and kept her "jason mask" that's what she called it , to scare the kids with! I hope all goes well for your sister and that this will take care of her mets. Prayers for you and your family. I wish I could be of more help! God bless, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAnn Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi Linda, I also completed WBR in October for NSCLC. The treatments were really easy. Only 30 seconds on one side of my head and 30 seconds on the other. I didn't start feeling bad until after I had completed all the treatments. The day after my last treatment my hair started falling out, so I had my husband shave my head. I also have experienced extreme fatigue, vision changes, ringing in the ears and short term memory difficulty. It is not as bad as I made it sound, believe me. I'm sure your sister will do wonderful. TAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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