ztweb Posted June 12, 2006 Posted June 12, 2006 OK. So I have been reading information about WBR, and I am beginning to wonder if that is what my dad is going to have....this is what I remember... There are no mets to the brain yet. Will do 30 days of ????? radiation as a precaution. What do you think this is? Quote
Carleen Posted June 12, 2006 Posted June 12, 2006 that is known as PCI Prophylactic cranial irradiation. It is generally used in patients with SCLC when they have reached remission. It is basically whole brain radiation when there are no brain mets to be targeted as preventative treatment. basically it is similar to WBR, but I think the dosage of radiation is not as severe. Quote
ztweb Posted June 12, 2006 Author Posted June 12, 2006 So, does that mean that the side affects might not be as bad? I mean, everything I read makes it look TERRIBLE, so I am scared, scared, scared. Many people seem to have major side affects starting at 6 mo afterwards????? Quote
Carleen Posted June 12, 2006 Posted June 12, 2006 I have heard from others on here that had the PCI and I don't recall there being the drastic side effects. Also, if the dose is the same as WBR, there is still hope that all can go well. My Keith is 20 months removed from WBR, and he had NO side effects really. Just some hair loss, and fatigue that he started to recover from about 2 weeks following completion of WBR. I will definitely be praying for your dad. Please try and not be afraid. This will work well for him. Quote
EastCoastLadi Posted June 12, 2006 Posted June 12, 2006 ztweb, my husband just finished up with wbr about 2 weeks ago, he had gone for 20 rounds ( 5x week for 4 weeks), (u can see his profile ) the worse side effect he has had with it up to now is he has a very bad burn on the back of his neck, he is now using silverdene cream, and it seems to be working. Just to let you know his experience w/ it was that the first visit was a "mapping" of the head with small pinpoints w/a marker ( not permanent) and then his treatments were very quick he was in treatment no longer than 5 - 10 mins at tops. When his treatments did go a little longer it was because they were x-raying his brain. The radiologist told him that we will come back in a month ( now it is 2 weeks and will probably do an mri of the brain) to see if the mets have disappeared, he said that the radiation can take up to a month to take effect. Also we were told that "radiation never forgets" so my husband now has to constantly wear a cap outside even if it isn't sunny and also always wear suncreen. But so far he hasn't had any real memory issues, except he always seems to forget what I say to him....but he did that before all of this!!!! Grace Quote
dchurchi Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Alan had WBR as he did have mets to the brain. His treatment was almost a year ago. His side effects were minimal considering how sick the tumor was making. him. 1 year post WBR Alan does have some short term memory loss and the hearing in his left ear is almost gone. However, he is enjoying a very active lifestyle that would not have been possible without treatment. There are always risks when dealing with this monster in Alan's case we had no choice, the tumor was crushing his brain stem. others may give you a different opinion on PCI. I hope some of this inforamtion will help. Prayers to you and your family. Quote
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