Radiation 101

[SarahSmile]

Your radiation experience will vary based upon your radiation site; for instance, my esophagus was not radiated, so I did not experience the esophageal/throat soreness so many of us do. Radiation of the groin will carry a different set of challenges than radiation of the chest.

I'll start off the dialogue about radiation with some tips from my experience:

--> Be religious in applying the cream and ointment recommended by your radiation oncologist. Keep it up after treatment's end, because your skin will still go through changes after treatment's end. I was great with my cream and still ended up with a livid, nasty, itchy, erupting rash that they called, "Sun rash." It eventually peeled off after driving me crazy it itched so bad -- and now my skin is bright white where it peeled off and still brown where my tanned skin wasn't affected.

--> Understand that fatigue is a really common side effect of radiation, so be gentle with yourself. It's hard to imagine that something that happens in such little time can pack such a wallop on your energy level, but it does.

--> Depending on the site of your radiation, you might get a mask. I did, and they marked the mask itself daily after a quick X-ray prior to each treatment, so I did not get the tattoos that some folks do. (They're really tiny.) They laid this piece of hot plastic over my face, head and upper chest, and then did some CT scans and X-rays to line up the radiation field while the plastic sheet dried into a mold. To it they applied little sort of toggle bolts, and each treatment I would lie down on my back and they would lower the mask over my face and upper chest -- it keeps you in firmly in place so they're radiating the right part. It can be stressful lying in the thing, but unless there's a delay it should be done in just a few minutes. (My actual radiation time was 20 seconds from above and 20 seconds from below.) Just do some positive visualization or run through your day's errands or plan a trip or something if the mask stresses you. (I imagined my mass crunching and crumbling away beneath the radiation's beam.)

--> Please know that you will have to wait for a while after receiving radiation before you can have a PET scan, as the PET can easily show a false positive because the radiation is still doing its work I think like 60 days after treatment's ended.

I've got to run.....I'll be back to post more later...

I encourage all of you who've been radiated to share the benefit of your experiences with those facing rads in the future. That's what this board is all about!

[ag2006]

Thanks Sarah for the valuable info!

Look forward to more entries! Please give us radiation newbies the knowledge, advice & suggestions of your personal experiences. Thank you.

God Bless,

Anne (awaiting radiation soon)

[RayNat]

Cool Sarah, radiation is in the pipeline for me once my lungs are all clear so keep adding valuable advice.

Btw, if looks like on the east coast (MSK) they like to radiate before SCT while the west and south do it after SCT (e.g MD Anderson) I wonder what rationale is behind each approach.

[SarahSmile]

Hi Natalia, at Emory they follow the protocols of Sloan Kettering, and in response to my very same question, my onc told me that Sloan Kettering's current rationale is that doing the rads beforehand (after collection but before high dose) is most beneficial because they want to reduce the field maximally going into the high dose so that it has the smallest area to work on. The idea is that since the high dose is the star of the show, they want to set it up for the greatest impact over the smallest area instead of doing further clean-up afterwards.

That makes total sense to me, but obviously there's more than one road to Rome.

[ChrisRyan7]

I figured I'd add some more stuff from my experience:

If you're getting your neck/throat radiated, get a dental exam before rads start and ask for flouride rinse too. I was told to use only a soft bristle tooth brush and to brush gently. Rads can do a number on any teeth in the path, so get a follow-up dental appointment too.

I got sharpie marks instead of tattoos, and they re-marked them every day. Avoid white clothes and sheets for a while. I found that removing the majority of the marker and leaving just a little behind (use soft liquid soap to avoid irritating the skin) kept the sheets clean.

Ditto what Sarah said about the application of the cream. Start before you think you need it and keep it up.

I had a tremendous bout of exhaustion AFTER rads finished, about 2 months later and it lasted for about 6 weeks.

If you get your neck/throat radiated, you may lose thyroid function. Here's a link for symptoms of hypothroidism.

My treatements were like this: Arrive and check in, wait to be called, change into gown on upper half (I had my neck radiated), climb onto table, get re-marked with sharpies and position table (I had my head and chin taped into place), zap for about 15 -30 seconds from each side, dress and go home. Weekly visits with the radiation onc and weekly blood checks. I also had periodic x-rays after treatment to make sure they were hitting the right spot.

The side effects I had during treatment were loss of taste, loss of saliva on the treated side, and the sore throat. I also lost hair in the treated area, and had back problems because of the hard flat table and the position my neck was held in, and a few rounds of claustrophobia. Oh, and ear, jaw pain on that side as well.

Longer term I've had pain in the treated area and a "hump" that is scar tissue from the rads.

[RASC_NY2]

Most of the good stuff has been said. Several points missed: if you are having radiation to the neck and throat, cough drops will relieve some of the throat pain. When eating take small bites and chew a lot, and then swallow-do not be in a hurry. After 3 or 4 times you will not continue to feel the initial discomfort and be able to finish your meal. The mask is very confining, make sure you are comfortable and the mask fits properly or you might experience a chocking sensation. The mask is skin tight so it must be on 100% right-have them reset it until you are comfortable. Lastly have the RAD ONC explain his radiation plan, it is fascinating: how the beams work, how critical areas are masked (as much as possible); what the clicking noise is.

If you are a male you might be discriminated against they will not give you a robe.

Use the cream etc, etc. It is really a lot of trouble for 15 min a day, in my case for 15 days. With the exception of the sore/sensitive skin in area of the radiation I think I have escaped other issues for the time being. Your hair lost to radiation will take longer to regrow then chemo lost hair-mine took almost 4 months to start. In most cases there will be radiation to the front and back of a suspect area.

Like Chris I removed the marks above the shirt collar. An alcohol wipe works wonders. I thought it was a lot easier then chemo. Be advised you might be video filmed during the treatment I was!
Tony

[hem rn]

Sarah,
You mentioned that radiation of the groin carried its on set of challenges. What are those challenges? They mentioned only doing radiation on one side. How well can they block those major organs there? I'm not so worried about my ovary my baby days are over. Its the bowel and bladder that I worry about. I have only 3 chemos left and I'm starting to try to figure out what to expect with the radiation . Do they make you wait any amt of time between chemo and radiation or do they normally let you jump right and get started. As much as I would like a break, I finish chemo around the last week of November and I'm now at the point where insurance is paying 100% until the end of the year. In January I start my new year over. So for financial reasons it would be great to get as many in by December 31 as possible.
Thanks for any info.
Holly

[Dee74]

Hi,
I'm fairly new here, but I just started my Radiation therapy on Wed. I am having my neck & chest radiated. I was given the mask to keep me in place. My treatments are very quick. I think it lasts longer for them to position you in the correct place than to give you the radiation.

It takes me about 15-30 seconds. They do front and back. I was also told that my hair would fall off in the back of my head only. Shucks, just when it was groing out. But oh well.

On my first radiation treatment, I had a sore throat half an hour after the treatment. It wasn't that bad, just a little sore, as if you are starting off a cold. But I am feeling very fatigued. This is barely my first week, I just pray & hope it doesn't get a lot worse.

I did get a tatoo, in the middle of my chest, and the rest I get sharpie marks as well. And I am using the creams they told me about. No problems with my skin....yet....

Hope this helps.......

[ag2006]

Here are some links regarding radiation:

Radiation Therapy: What to Expect:
http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/m...apy/index.html

Radiation Therapy and You - National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/r...-and-you/page1

What to Expect During Radiation Treatment
http://www.ufscc.ufl.edu/patient/con...ufscc&id=23110

Radiation Therapy for Cancer: Q & A - National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/f...rapy/radiation

ACS :: Radiation Therapy Effects
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/MB...p?sitearea=MBC

Radiation Therapy - Cancer information on MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/radiation...py/article.htm

[LAULAUSMAMMA]

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