Cobalt radiation and sun exposure

conrad64

My mom had hodgkins and was given Cobalt radiation- as whatever they did it was the largest dose you could get. They gave her 6mths to live. 38yrs later, numerous allergies, adrenals not working, and now the worse case of eczema and psorisis I have seen on her (entire body and half her face) I want to try the sun lamp but she was told never to go in the sun after that treatment that she survived. I can't find out why or if its okay as NOTHING is working on the skin. Her father had this and then it turned into skin cancer and passed. Does anyone know about sun exposure after Cobalt therapy for a patient that was expected to expire?

soccerfreaks

skin care
conrad,

First, congratulations to mom on her lengthy survivorship! Especially considering the dire diagnosis originally offered!

Why you would doubt her doctors after all of these years is beyond me.

Second, I salute you for your continuing concern and care for mom.

Third, as you must know, it is likely that the eczema and psoriasis are not cancer-related, or if so, only marginally so.

A lot of things happen to us that are not cancer-related, but if we have had cancer, we are somehow inclined to wonder if the cancer (or the treatment) did it.

Fourth, recent stuff in the news and in medical publications indicate that tanning salons are definitely cancer-inducing agents. I am not sure about what you mean with 'sun lamp', but I would caution you to check it out in depth before deciding that it would be good for mom.

From what I've read, it is good to get about an hour of sun every day. Of course, this is for physical health rather than mental, as most of us would prefer to be out and about for much more than an hour. The hour that is recommended is to get our daily fill of vitamin D.

There are clearly other ways to get vitamin D, and maybe you can explore them with her docs. You may also want to explore alternatives to the sun lamp for mom's current conditions.

Eczema and psoriasis are a pain. I watched my father-in-law suffer with both, trying just about everything to overcome them, to no avail in his case.

I am assuming, of course, that mom has already been to a dermatologist. If not, that is the next step, I would think. In the meantime, I would skip the lamp without evidence that it will do more harm than good.

Best wishes to mom and her family.

Take care,

Joe

tiny one

cobalt
I looked online and read that cobalt upsets the metabolism. It can cause sensitivities and allergies. Maybe the sun accelerates the effects. Wonder if acupuncture would help. I've never tried acupuncture but it allows the body to heal itself.