Spring 2014 Rads

Pam, do you get vertigo,as a result of the radiation process or do you have vertigo normaly.?  I ask this because DH last night developed dizziness, nausea, blurry vision, unable to walk.  We called 911 and spent hight in the ER.  We were afraid of a cardiac issue, but he had vertigo!  He is still,dizzy.  It is weird.  

So I had to have a friend take me to,have port removed today.  Totally exhausted.

Pam:  I have the same thing but to a lesser degree.  I discovered that I cannot do pilates or yoga as when I lay down and then turn over a few times, I become terribly nauseous.  Even at night when I go to bed, I have to have my head raised by a pillow.  You are the first other person that I have run into with the same, but even worse, condition.  Have you ever been dx with this? I just avoid certain situations. Glad you found a solution for your radiation treatments

My radiation simulation is today and then tomorrow starts the Monday through Friday daily treatments.  I am fortunate in that my work is allowing me to work from home during this time.  I am so glad to have chemo and surgery behind me.

Inks . . . I turned 40 in October, got diagnosed in December and just completed 17/33 treatments this morning.  I was an active runner when I was diagnosed.  I use running to keep my weight in check.  I told my RO that I wanted to keep running and stay on track with training for a half marathon on 4/27.  I was told i could continue to run as long as I keep the bouncing to a minimum.  I have had to miss a few workouts because there aren't always enough hours in the day.  Missing workouts showed me that working out/running a few times a week actually help with the fatigue.  I hope everything goes smoothly for you

hi everyone: from now on I will just come in to read. Reason is I'm still having SE of chemo. I start CT scan on March 24/14. I start rads April 1st.

Having my CT scan Friday am for RADs treatment planning. Actually excited to get it started knowing I am in treatment mode.  They say it takes a few weeks to get treatment plan established before starting the treatments.  Is that about right?

hi Flagirl

I too am waiting for the treatment plan. It will be two weeks tomorrow. They originally said a week, but when I called last Fri, they said it wasn't ready yet and they will call me as soon as it is. I want to get started so I can finish. 

I had a severe bout of vertigo while doing chemo. They thought it was a virus at first but it didn't go away after a week. An ear, nose and throat Dr. told me to do the Epley maneuver and that fixed it right away. He said that he's seen people spend thousands of dollars on tests when this maneuver will fix up to 80% of the cases on the first try. Hope it works for you! Here is a link to the procedure.  http://www.neurology.org/content/63/1/150.figures...

I had part of my 6th rad today.  Halfway through it  the machine broke and they couldn't get it started again. It ran a little slower than usual yesterday but today it died. I'm supposed to call tomorrow before going there to see if they got it fixed. They were talking about adding another day to the end of treatment or maybe doubling up one day. Radiation has been nothing but a pain to get scheduled. End of rant.

Hi Ladies!

Wow, it has been quite a week for me and I had to get caught up on this thread. My last chemo was 3/5 (yippee) and I had my first rads consult on 3/10. My team was right on top of things! What I have learned in this thread from all of you was so helpful. 

I had my markings yesterday. I absolutely HATED that appointment! Did anyone else? I got kind of stressed laying in one position for nearly an hour. My team was super nice and everything went smoothly but I just got overwhelmed by all of it for some reason. Anyone else feel this way? 

Vertigo: I was relieved to read that some of you have experienced that as well. I felt all alone in what I was experiencing. I've had minor episodes with vertigo for many years, usually when I was extremely stressed, sick or very tired. I experienced episodes a lot more during chemo. My MO wanted to send me for a head CT but I didn't do it. So, again, it was reassuring to read that I wasn't alone. 

I am so glad to hear that being sensitive to the sun in general does not necessarily mean rough se with rads. I went thru the ct planning and they marked the spots, then covered them with tape. It's been two weeks though and all the markings and tapes are gone. Hope that doesn't mean I will have to do that part all over again. I love my oncologist and surgeon, but they are over an hour away, so I asked for an RO closer. Luckily, my onc. knew one close by, and except for waiting to get started, it seems to be a great place. They offer acupuncture, a nutritionist and one massage- all included.  

KeeptheFaith,

My BS wants to see me after chemo and then again after rads but he said I did not need another mammogram until my yearly which is about 6 months after rads.

Thanks mapgirl!

Hey everyone!  Reading through many posts.  I start my zaps on Monday.  Had the CT scan on Wednesday, they made a mold for me and one of the techs was so sweet, she gave me the first appointment of the day so I can go directly to work and not have to drive back and forth to work twice.  I am only two miles from the hospital, so works out great.  They have a private parking lot for the rads patients and I was given the code to the gate.  Very convenient.  I only wish they were throwing in a massage too!!  That is nice that you get that, Anneb.

I asked about cremes.  I was told I will be given something on Monday and I put it on twice a day and that is it.  I will buy some hydrocortisone creme this weekend which the tech recommended for itching.  And if the skin gets more burned, they will give me something for that.  I have been told by everyone there that it is not as bad as some make it out to be and that I should be just fine.  I will let you all know as I progress through the process.  Please keep posting and let me know how you all are doing.

Big congrats to those that have finished! 

Have a nice weekend everyone.  Thinking of you all every day and keeping you in my pockets at my appts!

I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight into what to expect from radiation therapy. My 87 year old mother will be having her first of 30 sessions on Monday. As her caregiver, I can honestly say that I believe I'm more nervous of the side effects then she is. She'll be having the treatment at Creditvalley Hospital - Ontario. Her RO is suggesting that 30 treatments are necessary in order to properly treat the aggressive strain of cancer she has (Non- estrogen receptive). Being 87 she already has her natural aches and pains and fatigue of old age to deal with - I cannot image what we have to look forward. Any words of experience and lessons learned and basically anything you'd like to share that you feel might help us through this journey - is greatly appreciated.