Long Term Radiation Side Effects

khaleysho

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and wanted to reach out and see if others are experiencing similar side effects that my mom is experiencing.

My mom was diagnosed with a left frontal lobe grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma back in 98'. She had a craniotomy to remove the bulk of the tumor and then had targeted radiation therapy and BCNU chemotherapy. By the grace of God and an amazing oncology team, what was a 6 month time line has now turned into 27 years cancer free (with the exception of a benign meningioma that was treated in 2022).

She had zero side effects from treatment up until about 10 years ago. When she started having increasing difficulty walking which has progressively gotten worse. We have gone through a battery of testing to rule out recurrence, Parkinson's, and other mobility disorders, and have basically been told its either FND or radiation damage from the treatment that will progressively get worse over time.

She feels like her R foot and lower leg are heavy and that she can't really pick it up when walking. She also has perception issues where she feels that objects are closer than they are. Its limited her ability to walk and she has had to give up a lot of her independence.

Wasn't sure if anyone else that has had brain cancer treatment is experiencing anything similar and if you have found anything that has helped your symptoms.

She feels really isolated in this battle and I would really love to be able to connect her with folks who are feeling what she's feeling if I can.

jenpro

Gosh brain cancer is such a terrible thing. My sister's side effects have slowly crept in over the last 10 years with a tumor at the back of her head. All doctors say is it's side effects and no way to treat her failing eye sight, worsening balance, tongue paralysis. Hoping for some relief for your mom, and answers!

khaleysho

Brain cancer is so terrible. No answers to the cause as of yet, other than just side effects from the radiation. She has been making some good strides with aquatic physical therapy which has helped her balance. It might be worth looking into for your sister if you guys haven't tried it. I'm hoping and praying for relief for your sister too, and if we try anything else that seems like it helps I'll be sure to add it to this thread.