Questions about Radiation Treatment

[Guest NowakowDA]

Mom goes this Wednesday to see the radiation oncologist at the UNM Cancer Center (Dr. Gene Wong). The medical oncologist (Dr. Rabinowitz) said she has two tumors in her right lung. A large one and a much smaller one. Right now, Dr Rabinowitz said he is worried about the large tumor. He said it is partially obstructing one of her airways in the right lung. He said that this partial obstruction needs to be relieved. The doctor said the best way to do this is with radiation. He said that Dr. Wong will lay out a course of radiation treatment for Mom. He said that Dr. Wong will also order an MRI of her brain and a PET scan to make sure that the cancer has not spread. Dr. Rabinowitz said that when Dr Wong has shrunk the large tumor that he (Dr. Rabinowitz) wants to re-evaluate Mom's condition. He said that he wants to perform some more Pulmonary function tests on her. Dr. Rabinowitz said that if Mom regained enough pulmonary function in her right lung that she might not need any more oxygen. Dr. Mehran (the surgeon) also wants to re-evaluate Mom after treatment to see if her pulmonary function has increased enough to make her a good candidate for surgery.

My question is this. Mom is 79, birthday this month. She has no outward sign or symptom or anything to suggest that she has cancer. She does tire easy and sometimes gets a little confused. She has no problem sleeping or eating. I am worried how well she will handle the radiation. Dr. Rabinowitz said the most common side effect is fatigue, but there are other side effects that she can develop.

Anyone out there who has or had a loved one go through radiation treatment, I would like to hear from you about your experiences.

Don

[Ven]

Hi Don,

My situation is quite similar to yours - 15 radiation treatments to the chest on a 79 year old.

I guess the worst problem was fatigue and soreness where the radiation hit (still very tender in those areas) but no nausea or lack of appetite.

It really did help with the pain.

Hope that helps you a little.

[jamie]

Hi Don,

My dad got through with his radiation 2 months ago. They did direct radiation to his tumor, which is in the lower right of his lung, and also to his lymphnodes, because the cancer had spread there also. All in all, the radiation to the chest wasn't bad for him. The throat was much worse...

A burning sensation mostly. Almost like a sunburn. Thats all he complained about really. He did get nausea, but he thinks that was the chemo he was also recieving.

His radiation was successful, shrinking the tumor, and also killing all cancerous cells in the lymphnodes, and he is going in for surgery at the end of the month.

Just our story, I know that everyone is different, but I hope it goes as well for your Mom, as it did for my dad.

Best of Luck,

Jamie

[Guest bean_si (Not Active)]

Fatigue is the most common problem. I slept and slept during that time. I underwent both chemo and radiation at the same time which increased my fatigue.

I did have esophagitis from the radiation. Pain and difficult in swallowing. If your mom complains of this, try to be sure that as soon as possible she is given pain medication and Magic Mouthwash. MM has lidocaine and fungus killer in it. They call it mouthwash but you don't spit it out, you swallow it.

Although I believe it's not good to consume sugar if you have cancer, during that time, I ate tons of ice cream. Also, if she develops this, get some Ensure or Boost for her to drink. They contain lots of protein, vitamins, etc. I found chocolate Ensure tasted the best.

Hope this helps.

Cat

[Guest NowakowDA]

Mom's started acting a little strange tonight. She get's confused and somewhat disoriented. She to stop and think about what she was doing. She does no realize that she is confused. I do not know if this is a result of the partial airway obstruction and a lower blood oxygen level. She is still on 2ltrs of oxygen. I've e-mailed her primary care provider. I'll see what he has to say tomorrow.

Don

[stand4hope]

Don,

My husband had a lot of fatigue from lung radiation, but he was also receiving mega doses of chemo at the same time. I will pray that your mom will do well with the radiation.

God bless you,

Peggy

[gail p-m]

Don,

My Dad had 35 doses of radiation at 79 years of age and I'll tell you, for him, it was a piece of cake. A few months prior to that, he had had chemo and had a tough time with it. So perhaps it was in comparison to chemo. But he was quite able to drive himself to and back from radiation and only towards the end, he felt some fatigue but not a terrible fatigue. By the way, he got few results from chemo but excellent results from radiation.

Best of luck to your mom.

Gail P-M

[CynMs]

I had close to 40 radiation treatments to my tumor. I had it directed to the front of my chest as well as the back. On the front of my chest I had a mild sunburn reaction, but on the back I developed a 2 by 2 inch burn, that i had to treat and keep a dresing on it, but it was not painful at all. As others have said, fatigue is a problem. I also lost weight despite my appetite being good and eating well during the treatments, so you might need to keep an eye out for her nutritional status, maybe supplements or whatever her doctor recommends. But overall if was not a difficult experience at all.