Changing treatment center during radiation cycle?

Chrisesta67

Does anyone know if it's possible to switch to a different treatment center at some point during a weeks-long radiation schedule? I'm in the challenging position of needing to change jobs very soon and being about to begin radiation therapy. I need to include the New England (U.S.) region in my job search. For financial and professional reasons, I'm not really in a position to turn down the right job if it's offered (even if it's in a different state from where I'm currently living). But I'm also committed to 33 sessions of radiation oncology, scheduled to begin within the next week or so. I'm going to pose this question to my radiation oncologist but I'm also curious about what members of this breast cancer support community might know about making a treatment center change during the radiation process. I value this support group and will appreciate any responses.

cookiegal

Ok....you should be able to do Canadian fraction which makes rads shorter. I didn't do it, but it has been studied and MSK supports it.
In some ways rads is a lot less personal, so it might be ok to switch before you start.
That being said rads made me very tired, mentally foggy, and blistered, more towards the end. I would not want to be starting a new job until maybe two weeks after rads, but others experience varies.

wenweb

Don't quote me on this, but I was just talking to someone last week who was told that she needed to have all of her rads at the same facility because each machine is different.  She was hoping that she could start her treatments prior to going to FL for the winter.

Chrisesta67

Thanks to cookiegal and wenweb for your replies.

I had also heard that the tattoos that are applied prior to radiation are matched to a specific machine. So, I'm not feeling very confident about being able to switch treatment center venues mid-therapy. I will pose the question to my treatment team, though.

Thanks also for the information about the Canadian fraction. I'll inquire about that, too.