reaction to radiation

jennajenjensue
jennajenjensue Member Posts: 7
edited March 2014 in Brain Cancer #1
My dad has gliablastoma multiforme diagnosed in December. He had most removed. he only has 10 radiation sessions left, and he is really bad. He is worse off now than before surgery. Short term memory is gone. He cannot read or write, and his coordiantion for eating is gone also. He has been reduced to eating over the sink. Is this a normal reaction? I think the doctor is sugarcoating everything by saying it is normal because before he started any treatment we were not warned about any of this. Please let me know any personal experiences with radiation.

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
    Sounds like your dad is having quite a difficult time. After my first surgery I had a max. dose of radiation, 6600 rads, without the side effects. It also sounds like your dad's symtoms may be related to the tumor as much as the radiation. I have also experienced the memory problems but they are related to the cancer and not radiation. Please remember you can seek a second opinion. If you are not comfortable with what his doctor is saying, seek a second opinion.

    Stay Positive
    Mike
  • jennajenjensue
    jennajenjensue Member Posts: 7
    #3
    unknown said:

    Sounds like your dad is having quite a difficult time. After my first surgery I had a max. dose of radiation, 6600 rads, without the side effects. It also sounds like your dad's symtoms may be related to the tumor as much as the radiation. I have also experienced the memory problems but they are related to the cancer and not radiation. Please remember you can seek a second opinion. If you are not comfortable with what his doctor is saying, seek a second opinion.

    Stay Positive
    Mike

    i think we will seek a second oppinion. Thanks for letting me know about your experience. Dad and I both feel the doctor is just feeding us lines.
  • daughter15
    daughter15 Member Posts: 3
    #4
    My dad had the same reaction to radiation when he went through it. He could hardly speak and he always stuttered. Now, I can tell that your dad's condition is much worse than my father's was but maybe his technique will work for your dad. You see, after surgery my dad went through so much chemo and radiation that he couldn't ever finish his sentences, he had to have help going to the bathroom, and he was reduced down to using a wheelchair. He was like that for a while until we started eating health food. With what the radiation was doing to his cancer and with the help of his health food, he slowly regained his strength, started using a cane, and even started singing again(it was something he loved to do). I don't know if my advice will help you or not but anything is worth trying.
  • jennajenjensue
    jennajenjensue Member Posts: 7
    #5
    daughter15 said:

    My dad had the same reaction to radiation when he went through it. He could hardly speak and he always stuttered. Now, I can tell that your dad's condition is much worse than my father's was but maybe his technique will work for your dad. You see, after surgery my dad went through so much chemo and radiation that he couldn't ever finish his sentences, he had to have help going to the bathroom, and he was reduced down to using a wheelchair. He was like that for a while until we started eating health food. With what the radiation was doing to his cancer and with the help of his health food, he slowly regained his strength, started using a cane, and even started singing again(it was something he loved to do). I don't know if my advice will help you or not but anything is worth trying.

    thanks for the encouragement. We are changing his diet to a more healthier one so maybe that will help. Is there anything imparticular that you changed. We are willing to try anything.

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