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pci for small cell lung cancer

kal60
kal60 CSN Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
I'd greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has knowledge or experience with doing pci brain radiation. My sister-in-law is now trying to make this decision. She has had great success with her chemo and radiation treatment, but doesn't feel she's getting a lot of info from her doc's regarding short and long term side effects. I'll be grateful for any info anyone can offer. Thanks for reading and responding.
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  • handle
    handle CSN Member Posts: 31 Member
    #2
    Hi, I have small cell lung cancer, I will be five year survivor this february, I opted out of the Prophylactic brain Irradiation. It was my own choice against my radiologist. I asked my Oncologist and she told me to ask my radiologist and I pushed her, she just rolled her eyes and said nothing. I decided that I would take the chance and not go thru the treatment. I know there is a 65% chance of brain mets, but I didn't like the short term memory loss.All I can say is to have your sister-in-law read all she can about it and make a decision that she can live with. It is her life and her body.I hope that they told her that she does have a window of two years to decide this. I would also suggest they do a pet-scan to make sure there is no active cancer in her body. The pet-scan is better than the mri or ct-scan. It will show if she has any active cancer . I hope this has helped you some , but always remember , it is your body and you make the choice. In my prayers and God bless. Mike
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  • kal60
    kal60 CSN Member Posts: 4
    #3
    handle said:

    Hi, I have small cell lung cancer, I will be five year survivor this february, I opted out of the Prophylactic brain Irradiation. It was my own choice against my radiologist. I asked my Oncologist and she told me to ask my radiologist and I pushed her, she just rolled her eyes and said nothing. I decided that I would take the chance and not go thru the treatment. I know there is a 65% chance of brain mets, but I didn't like the short term memory loss.All I can say is to have your sister-in-law read all she can about it and make a decision that she can live with. It is her life and her body.I hope that they told her that she does have a window of two years to decide this. I would also suggest they do a pet-scan to make sure there is no active cancer in her body. The pet-scan is better than the mri or ct-scan. It will show if she has any active cancer . I hope this has helped you some , but always remember , it is your body and you make the choice. In my prayers and God bless. Mike

    Thank you, Mike for your input. It sounds like you may have the same doc, as her's too likes to roll her eyes when my sister-in-law expresses her worries about side effects. I'll be sure to press the issue of the pet-scan and also about the two year window you spoke of. We have been led to believe that the best results occur when done within 8-weeks of ending chemo/radiation. Thank you for giving us more to research and questions for the docs. My thoughts and prayers will be for your continued good health. God Bless. Kathy
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  • carlinda1
    carlinda1 CSN Member Posts: 3
    #4
    My husband has small cell lung cancer and is now in end-stage. He had the brain radiation, and it didn't make him any the less intelligent, as far as I could tell. I guess it's an individual choice.
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