Radiation starts Oct 17

yensid683 said:

Adding to Matt's comment

Radiation treatments themselves are fairly simple albiet a bit claustraphobic what with the mask that holds you in place.  Each session should last around 15 minutes, so not all that long, and surprisingly it is painless

Afterwards, it can be challenging in that radiation impacts are cumulative. 

I had 33 radiations treatments, and getting them was a breeze, but the side effects multiplied each day, essentially a gigantic sunburn for all of the throat tissues.

the first week saw some minor soreness and irritation in my throat, I used popsicles as an 'ice pack' type treatment that was fairly effective.  Saliva started to dry up and taste began to fade towards the end of the week.

Week two saw intensification of these side effects and a greater experience with pain and mucos coating all of the irradiated tissues.

Week three saw the need to start prescription pain medication, sense of taste virtually disappeared, swallowing became a challenge and the skin on my neck started to redden.

Weeks 4,5 and 6 saw intensification of all of the above, and by the end of rads it was particularly challenging.

It is manageable though.

My radiation oncologist had me get a feeding tube and it was a life saver.  I could barely swallow water, let along enough calories to keep me going.  One tip on the feeding tube - when you're using it and he feels the need to sneeze or cough, clamp the tube closed as anything that is in the tube will fly out.  A year later I was painting the ceiling in the room where I first used the tube and had the sneeze experience and found a spot of the liquid feed on the ceiling!

It is important that he care for his skin, clear, unscented aloe vera is very beneficial.  I used it all during treatement and had very minor skin burns (similar to a wicked sunburn).  A word of caution, only use it AFTER a treatment, make sure the skin is clean and free of anything before a treatment.

Swallowing will be a challenge but it is critically important that he understand that he could permanently lose the ability to swallow anything if he doesn't swallow something every day.

Hydration is important as well.  Treatments will kill off cancer cells, the body will break these dead cells down and the kidneys will remove the toxins and will need water in order to facilitate filtering out these toxins (chemo too)

Last but not least, talk to him about your concerns.  My wife held it all in and it manifested itself in anger, she needed to vent and wouldn't as she didn't want to burden me any more than I already was. 

Talk to him, let him know that you're there for him, and share how you feel, it will help.

As to the diabetic issues, unfortunately I'll have to defer to others, I have no experience with that.

You can always ask his medical team.

Thanks for the detailed response.  I will call today to figure out what we might plan for regarding the diabetic response to this treatment.  I might add, he was type 2 before this started, but the chemo increased the severity so we're in the learning process.  The Dr. says this will reverse after treatments end.  I've heard aloe plant is the best from some.  The tip to NOt put anything on the neck until AFTER a treatment is helpful.  Thanks!  Your week by week description is very helpful!

Margi Greene, St. Charles, MO