Radiation Questions

TLynn0102

Hi -
My chemo treatments were done last December and I did not require radiation; but I have some questions about it because we will be taking care of my father-in-law who is undergoing radiation treatments for prostrate cancer. I am wondering what to expect after the first treatment? Will it be like chemo or will a difference not be noticed? What are the common side effects that you experience on radiation and of course the uncommon? Can depression occur during the treatments? Is there anything we should be looking for that will alert us to something that is wrong while he is in our care? Should he has a special diet? Can he has a cocktail or two? He loves his cocktails and if he cannot have them I would like to be prepared to stand my ground. He is 78 and has a long history of heart diease; and to top it off he does not always tell you if he is feeling bad or not, he could be the poster child for being head strong. Any information will be helpful, we want to make sure he is comfortable and we are well prepared. Thank you a million times over! Take care and God Bless!
Tracey

Katz77

Questions
I like to offer my take on it. My first visit was about an hr. They made a impression of my body(waist up),so when getting rads ur still. Kind of like a big bean bag. I've seen gentalmen that theirs was waist down. I assume thats for prostate.
I didn't have a special diet. I was told to consume vast amounts of liquids. Couple of times I didn't do this and was vey dry after. Think even the little UTI came from not enough liquids. As far as his cocktails and heart situation, better ask his regular doc. Remember alcohol is dehydrating. If he has back trouble they have wedges that help. I have siatic nerve pain and they even got me a "butt" pad. That made alot of differance.
Dryness, thristy, and after 28 hits, massive sunburn. I made some cream with aquaphor, the lido cream and aloe. Mixed it a container worked real well till the last few hits. I thought they turned up the machine. They prescribed me silvadene cream. Guess that about it. Main thing fluids, and lots of cream. Good luck on ur journey. I'm alot like ur father-in-law, I don't always say if I feel bad or ask for help. Ohhh, he will be soo sleepy. I could hardly hold my eyes open a couple hrs after. Naps, I love my naps. once again good luck. Gayla

lanie940

My neighbor's husband got
My neighbor's husband got radiation treatments for his prostate cancer. He is doing fine. Only thing she said was he got pink same as we would on our breasts. He was more tired, I will ask her when we talk again if anything else she remembers.

Megan M

lanie940 said:

My neighbor's husband got
My neighbor's husband got radiation treatments for his prostate cancer. He is doing fine. Only thing she said was he got pink same as we would on our breasts. He was more tired, I will ask her when we talk again if anything else she remembers.

I can't speak for radiation
I can't speak for radiation for prostrate cancer. Have you spoken with the radiation oncologist yet? Write down all of your questions so that you can ask them when you see him. Also, there is a discussion thread on here for prostrate cancer. Maybe, someone there could answer more specifically about it than we can. Good luck.

Megan

TLynn0102

Megan M said:

I can't speak for radiation
I can't speak for radiation for prostrate cancer. Have you spoken with the radiation oncologist yet? Write down all of your questions so that you can ask them when you see him. Also, there is a discussion thread on here for prostrate cancer. Maybe, someone there could answer more specifically about it than we can. Good luck.

Megan

Thank you!
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I have spoken to the radiologist but they did not have much to offer. Having only gone through the chemo myself I could not relate to the radiation or answer his questions properly. This information is very helpful, thanks again and have a wonderful day!
Tracey