HELP - 16 rad treatments in Canada?

ftreloar

HELP - 16 rad treatments in Canada?

ftreloar

My rad.onc. offered me a shorter dose of rad. treatments instead of 25 - it would be 16 - she said that is what they do in Canada.  Can anyone share any info on this especially on how long has this been used?

Jill_45

Not sure why she would say that because I have been told 5 weeks (25 treatments) after my chemo and even before my dx of IDC when they thought it was DCIS it was still going to be 5 weeks. My daughter works at the Cancer Clinic and she told me the norm is 5-6 weeks. I am in Victoria, BC so I am not sure where you are from here in Canada.

erika-canada

Hi:

I have never heard of 16 treatments? I had 5 treatments a week for 5 weeks = 25 treatments.

Sorry, can't be of more help.

best wishes...ask your Rad onc where this info. was brought to his/her attention?

Erika

lisa39

I've been told I'll have 21 rads- so 4 weeks and one day.  Never heard that 16 is the norm in Canada.

wetcoast

Hi,

I am from western canada and I am to have 16 treatments. I just finished chemo and it won't happen until towards the end of june. As soon as I go for my simulation I shall ask and will let you girls know. I am a smaller breasted women (two raisins on a bread board) and I am sure if they did 6 weeks I would be fried but good. I have noticed more women up here are doing the shorter time period. My mil also had breast cancer about 10 yrs ago and she had rads only but went for 6 weeks.

will be in touch

wetcoast

Hi,

I am from western canada and I am to have 16 treatments. I just finished chemo and it won't happen until towards the end of june. As soon as I go for my simulation I shall ask and will let you girls know. I am a smaller breasted women (two raisins on a bread board) and I am sure if they did 6 weeks I would be fried but good. I have noticed more women up here are doing the shorter time period. My mil also had breast cancer about 10 yrs ago and she had rads only but went for 6 weeks.

will be in touch

angelsaboveus

Hi,

I'm from the west coat too, and I will be getting 16 reg treatments with 5 boosts. Some of the boost she said might be on reg treatment days while some will follow after. So i'm probablly looking at 18-19 days.  I'm still in chemo till end of August so won't start till fall.

Good luck to you! 

pip57

Sounds to me like they are trying a new approach in some places. My mother had 25 treatments 12 years ago and I had 25 treatments last fall.



Ftreloar, are you from the west?

Dragonfli

I had my radiation treatments for IDC in Kelowna, and had 16 treatments. I was able to skip the boost (4 treatments)  They said that was my perk to the 2nd surgery, that after chemo,  I  could skip the boosts if my re-excision of my lumpectomy area was clear.

I asked the techs at the time why we seemd to have fewer raditation treatments here in Canada then the US. The techs at that time said  that the amount of radiation delivered over the course of treatment was the same, here in Canada as in the US. The difference, was probably attributed to how much is paid out by US Insurance companies for each radiation "visit".

So that 25 treatments & a boost in the US is probably close to 16 + boost in Canada.

Maybe someone can get a clear answer from a radiation oncologist.

suz45

Hi, I just finished my radiation this week and had 16 treatments with 4 boosts. Also my sil had 16 treatments with no boosts two months ago. I think they also use the same method in Europe. Breast size is usually taken into account, I think larger breasts need more treatments. Hope this helps. Suz

snowyday

I had the 16 treatments as well, I was in a Clinical Study held in London called Rapid Rads, you receive the same amount of greys (sp) so your still getting the right amount but in faster.  I found that it worked really well for me.  I had some burning and pain, but not nearly as bad as some other women that received the same amounts over a longer period of time.  I liked the fact that the treatment was half the time it would have been.  I used clear aloe vera gel at least three times a day and found it really helped alot.  When I showered I made sure that the radiated area didn't come into contact with hot water and used lots of cream.  The worst part was my nipple.  The shorter rapid rads also I believe left less of a darkening compared to other women that had the full 33 plus boost days.  I compared it with other women with skin types like mine and I am very happy with the outcome.  Good luck to you and it's so nice to have it overwith faster.  I believe this will be the new norm and it's actually something good.  I wish you luck during your rads. 

koshka1

Hello,,,,

I am from Vancouver Canada.... I did 16 rads treatments and 4 boosts....

My radiation oncologist said this is something that they have been doing for a while with great success.  She says Canada and Europe are offering it more and more.

Apparently it is a stronger dose, shorter treatment.

I did fine,,,,mild tan on  my breast,,,nipple turned grey and peeled....i got really really really tired right after the first treatment.....and 2 weeks after it was all done i got this goosebump like rash on my boob,,,rads onc gave me cream and it cleared up......

Now on the tamoxifin...blah...

Hugs..kosh

Lucy47

Hi all,

I too had only 16 rads last may.....I was told that this is the norm for my bc dx. I'm not a very big busted woman and my tumor was 2.4cm located at 11:00 o'clock.

Also on Tamoxifen

xo

KKing

Hello, I am from Brampton Ontario and I am to start rads in October.  16 regular and 5 just to the lump.    Question for you... is there any need for medication while undergoing the therapy???  Just curious as I have had just about enough drugs so far.

Cheers

Karen

Lucy47

Hey Karen,

No there is no need for medication.....you will find that rads are a piece of cake after going through chemo. The worst part is going there everyday.....plus the techs at Credit Valley are really nice.

Don't worry

Lucy 

meglove

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all the information. It made me feel better reading your post. Can I drive to Rads by myself or I should have someone to drive me? Thanks!

koshka1

Hi,

The worst thing about the Rads for me was that it made me tired....My drive to the Cancer Agency was about a 1/2 hour each way and over the course of my whole treatment I had no problem getting to and from there....

You should be ok to drive.

Hugs and keep us posted.

Kosh

lizinmontreal

I also had 16 rad treatments with 4 boosts. I just finished the 1st boost and I've had no problems with my skin. I actually used very little moisturizer.

I was offered to be in a 10 day trial and have rads twice a day. If you live close to your treatment centre, it would be doable. 

marjie

I was told right from dx that I would have 25 rads right after chemo.

Alice100

Hi there:

I'm from British Columbia and I have to have 28 rad treatments starting at the end of this month. The Rads Oncologist told me that because I have expanders in (reconstruction happened at the time of my bi-lat mx) it has to be that long and lesser dose.  If I didn't have them, it would have been the higher dose with a lesser number of treatments.

Alice 

Cowgirl13

I had 16 rads plus 3 boosts.  I was thrilled to find this out as I thought it would 6 or 7 weeks.

I was also offered the 5 day treatment--twice a day.  I really wanted to do that but because I am HER2 positive I decided not to. 

Babyface

Rapid radiation was a study conducted over the past 10 years. The trial leader was Dr. Timothy Whelan(great Dr. and fellow) from the Juravinski Cancer center/McMaster University in Hamilton. The trial had great results. Here is a link on the study:

 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0906260

 A link on this website discussing the results :

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/radiation/new_research/20100210b.jsp

A link to a youtube clip with Dr. Whelan discussing the treatment :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sy7Vfydrqc