Have you had a break in radiation treatment/

sierra28

Hi, I just have 5 more radiation treatments left but I had to take a week off because of my blood counts.  I am worried that the delay in finishing my last 5 radiations will cause me to fall into the 20 % of people who are not cured of this cancer.  I would like to hear from anyone who has had to postpone treatments and if it affected the outcome of their treatments.  Kind regards, Kathy

AZANNIE

sierra28

I had 5 radiation treatments left when I ended up in the hospital due to burns and low blood counts. I'm 3 years post treatment and no evidence of disease. A few days before I went to the hospital, the radiation tech asked the radiation dr to look at the burns. He said to continue with treatments. I almost didn't finish the last 5 but the break helped.

Ann

horsepad

I was not able to finish my

I was not able to finish my radiation due to hospitalization because of side effects from chemo/radiation.  I was stage 4 and will be celebrating 3 yrs NED in a few months.

sierra28

AZANNIE said:

sierra28

I had 5 radiation treatments left when I ended up in the hospital due to burns and low blood counts. I'm 3 years post treatment and no evidence of disease. A few days before I went to the hospital, the radiation tech asked the radiation dr to look at the burns. He said to continue with treatments. I almost didn't finish the last 5 but the break helped.

Ann

Ann,
Thank you so much for

Ann,

Thank you so much for your reply.  I was really upset that I had gone thourgh all these treatments and that maybe they would not be effective because of the break in treatments.  Hope to start my last 5 on Thursday.

 

sierra28

horsepad said:

I was not able to finish my

I was not able to finish my radiation due to hospitalization because of side effects from chemo/radiation.  I was stage 4 and will be celebrating 3 yrs NED in a few months.

Thanks for your reply.  Glad

Thanks for your reply.  Glad to hear that you have been NED for 3 years.  I hope I am as blessed as you.

TraceyUSA

I had a break too

I had a week off at the end too.  My radiologist said my inside and outside was inflamed and I should have a break before the last chemo and last 7 radiation treatments.  This really upset me but he said that it would not affect my outcome and that most times when they didn't give someone a break they wish they would have.  I finished everything in March 2013 and have had no evidence of recurrance on all my scans and check-ups since.

AZANNIE

sierra28 said:

Ann,
Thank you so much for

Ann,

Thank you so much for your reply.  I was really upset that I had gone thourgh all these treatments and that maybe they would not be effective because of the break in treatments.  Hope to start my last 5 on Thursday.

 

Sierra28

You're so very welcome! At least they recognized that you needed a break. My radiation oncologist never looked at my nether regions until the radiation tech asked him to check. The tech must have thought I needed a break, but he said to continue. A couple days later I felt crappy and went to the ER. Hope all goes well for you. Rest and recuperate for the last five days - you're almost there and then the healing will begin.

Ann

 

 

qv62

sierra28

I am sorry to hear you are at the point where you need to take a break, I hope the break does you well and you get right back on track. It seems so many wind up needing to stop for a break near the end or wind up in the hospital, for those of you that have needed a break or wound up in the hospital do you ahave any adivice for those of us in treatment that may help us to muddle through without being hospitalized or to keep our skin from extreme burns in order to eliminate the break ?

dawn7767

I had also had a break in

I had also had a break in radiation treatments due to buring I was off almost 2 weeks due to holiday's falling during the week.  For the past 4 years all CT scans have came back clear and I was about stage 3.

 

islandgirlculebra

Sierra28: I had Stage IIIB

Sierra28: I had Stage IIIB and had to stop radiation treatments with 5 treatments left due to a two-week hospitalization for low blood counts and then C-diff. The Radiation Oncologist would not continue the treatments afterwards, saying it would do no good at that point. He was quite negative, telling me when I was at my very lowest point and sick as a dog that I would need surgery because "you still have cancer". The Chemo Oncologist was more positive, and had already told me that radiation continues to work for quite a while after treatment ends.  The Scan three months later showed no evidence of cancer. The Colo-rectal surgeon was quite surprised because he also expected to see a tumor remaining but there was nothing but scar tissue.  Two years later, my scans and all tests are still coming back clear. I know it's very scary at the point where you are now.... Keep thinking thoughts for a positive outcome!

sierra28

TraceyUSA said:

I had a break too

I had a week off at the end too.  My radiologist said my inside and outside was inflamed and I should have a break before the last chemo and last 7 radiation treatments.  This really upset me but he said that it would not affect my outcome and that most times when they didn't give someone a break they wish they would have.  I finished everything in March 2013 and have had no evidence of recurrance on all my scans and check-ups since.

Rang my bell today.

I only had to take 6 days off.  My break was because of low platlettes. Finished my treatments today and the Dr. said the tumor is almost gone.

mp327

sierra28 said:

Rang my bell today.

I only had to take 6 days off.  My break was because of low platlettes. Finished my treatments today and the Dr. said the tumor is almost gone.

sierra28

Congratulations on being done with your treatment!  Now you can focus on healing.  I wish you all the very best in your recovery!

sierra28

islandgirlculebra said:

Sierra28: I had Stage IIIB

Sierra28: I had Stage IIIB and had to stop radiation treatments with 5 treatments left due to a two-week hospitalization for low blood counts and then C-diff. The Radiation Oncologist would not continue the treatments afterwards, saying it would do no good at that point. He was quite negative, telling me when I was at my very lowest point and sick as a dog that I would need surgery because "you still have cancer". The Chemo Oncologist was more positive, and had already told me that radiation continues to work for quite a while after treatment ends.  The Scan three months later showed no evidence of cancer. The Colo-rectal surgeon was quite surprised because he also expected to see a tumor remaining but there was nothing but scar tissue.  Two years later, my scans and all tests are still coming back clear. I know it's very scary at the point where you are now.... Keep thinking thoughts for a positive outcome!

Last treatment today

Glad to hear your scans have been clear.  My doctor was great and on top of everything.  The only problem I had was with the low blood counts and the 2 shota they gave me to bring up the counts.  I did not take one pain pill thru this whole treatment.  My radio burns were under control.  I feel that I was very lucky .

sierra28

mp327 said:

sierra28

Congratulations on being done with your treatment!  Now you can focus on healing.  I wish you all the very best in your recovery!

Thank you

I went thru this with very little side effects.  Never needed pain meds.  I guess waiting for the first Scan must be nerve racking but I have thought positive thru all of this and I will continue to do so.

gabby_ca

In a couple of weeks now, I

In a couple of weeks now, I will be EIGHT YEARS NED.

I did 5400 Gys but in only 24 doses which was BRUTAL. I did m-f for 2 weeks and then a m-tuesday and then had a 3 week break before doing the same thing again.  Radiation is cumulative which means that it builds up the further you go and will continue doing its job for a few weeks even after you are completely done.  My counts were never an issue.  This was a new way of treating the cancer that I had here in Canada.  I also had gene therapy as well with Mito/5FU.

pem

gabby_ca said:

In a couple of weeks now, I

In a couple of weeks now, I will be EIGHT YEARS NED.

I did 5400 Gys but in only 24 doses which was BRUTAL. I did m-f for 2 weeks and then a m-tuesday and then had a 3 week break before doing the same thing again.  Radiation is cumulative which means that it builds up the further you go and will continue doing its job for a few weeks even after you are completely done.  My counts were never an issue.  This was a new way of treating the cancer that I had here in Canada.  I also had gene therapy as well with Mito/5FU.

8 years, wow!

That's fantastic that your 8 years Ned.  If you don't mind me asking, what stage were you and what type of gene therapy did you have?  I had the most radiaction a person can receive. I was very burnt but it only hurt when I went to bathroom  .  i too am from canada. Close to toronto area. I healed fairly quickly and was back to work a week and a half after treatment. I've had a few scares in my lung area ad well as nodes behind lungS. The dr had meetings about me cause they don't think my nodules look like a typical nodule. I do have asthma must it scares me that they are really kinda just guessing it's related to my asthma. I had quite a few nodules , but they say they got smaller on a second scan. But I just had my third scan and again more nodules are in new places some are gone but they still think some kind of infection related to asthma .  If that's the case then how come no one is trying to fix this problem. I do sometimes feel a tightening or a feeling like something is in my back area like a knot or something when I do house work or something strenuous . I keep asking myself if I should get a second opinion. The dr that treated you, did they have experiance with treating anal cancer ?  I think I was my oncologists second patient Only. He is great don't get me wrong, but this is my life and I want to be around a lot longer.   God bless you. Pem 

gabby_ca

pem said:

8 years, wow!

That's fantastic that your 8 years Ned.  If you don't mind me asking, what stage were you and what type of gene therapy did you have?  I had the most radiaction a person can receive. I was very burnt but it only hurt when I went to bathroom  .  i too am from canada. Close to toronto area. I healed fairly quickly and was back to work a week and a half after treatment. I've had a few scares in my lung area ad well as nodes behind lungS. The dr had meetings about me cause they don't think my nodules look like a typical nodule. I do have asthma must it scares me that they are really kinda just guessing it's related to my asthma. I had quite a few nodules , but they say they got smaller on a second scan. But I just had my third scan and again more nodules are in new places some are gone but they still think some kind of infection related to asthma .  If that's the case then how come no one is trying to fix this problem. I do sometimes feel a tightening or a feeling like something is in my back area like a knot or something when I do house work or something strenuous . I keep asking myself if I should get a second opinion. The dr that treated you, did they have experiance with treating anal cancer ?  I think I was my oncologists second patient Only. He is great don't get me wrong, but this is my life and I want to be around a lot longer.   God bless you. Pem 

I was staged at T3,N0,M0.  I

I was staged at T3,N0,M0.  I am in BC.  The gene therapy involved taking 6 litres of my blood over a few weeks and then altering the DNA to make be 'sensitized' to the SCC strain that I had.  I then had injections of my own blood/plateletes that were modified a few times over the course of my chemotherapy.  I hope that answers your questions.