Radiation Treatment at NCI Cancer Center or local facility?

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Hammie28
Hammie28 Member Posts: 63
edited March 2016 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I'm sure I'm not the first to struggle with this decision so I thought I would post it here for feedback. I am trying to decide between doing radiation treatment at the NCI center that has managed by care up to this point (chemo, surgery), or doing treatment at a local facility. Obviously being close to home would be the easiest on my family, but I do not want to sacrifice my care. From everything I can find, radiation treatment for breast cancer is very standardized. Even the doctors at the NCI center seem very comfortable with me doing treatment locally. I'm just curious about the experiences others might have had. Thank you!

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  • oddducklady
    oddducklady Member Posts: 58
    edited March 2016

    Hammie, Wanted you to know someone had read your post. I can only offer from my husband's experience. Up till now all of his care has been at a NCI center about four hours from our home. During his first bout with treatment when meeting with the radiologist, I asked about having the radiation near our home. The Dr. was emphatic that he felt it would be better for him to have the radiation at the cancer center and was clear with his reasons (large area of radiation, it was on his left side so there were concerns about the heart, their experience, etc). He had the radiation there and we were glad even though it was not easy to be away from home so long. With his recent treatment, his RO asked us to consider doing the radiation in our home city as he felt it was safe to do so. We met with a RO in our home town before we made the final decision to be sure we were completely comfortable. I will say this time is much easier. I can't tell what side you will be having radiation on, or how involved the area. You might also want to meet with the new doctor. I hope this helps. It's a hard choice especially if you already have doctors you trust. Good luck.

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited March 2016

    meet with both, hear their plan to make sure they are the same, and see if there is a difference in the technology.

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  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 4,505
    edited March 2016

    Can you ask if there are specific local recommendations? I was planning to have my radiation where I had my chemo, several hours from home, and just get a sublet and stay there on weekdays. The RO said there was no need for that because treatments are so standardized, and gave me the name of two ROs she trusted at my local facility. She said that if I lived in some other towns, she would not recommend going local.

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  • Hammie28
    Hammie28 Member Posts: 63
    edited March 2016

    Thank you for your responses. I need radiation on the right side. I've met with ROs at both the NCI and local center. They both outlined the same treatment plan... Chest wall, boosts to the scar, Axillary nodes, intramammary nodes, and above the collar bone. And I asked about equipment... It's the same.

    Truthfully none of my doctors at the NCI center have flinched at the idea of doing radiation locally. But I am a perfectionist in life in general. I have high expectations, and I'm a little ocd. Getting treatment locally feels like cutting a corner to me, and I don't cut corners! Still the rational side of me says, "this will be fine!" And doing treatments locally could give our family a more normal routine for awhile which is important with more surgeries ahead.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited March 2016

    I definitely would go local! The radiation treatment itself is only a few minutes & being local means that you really can have a normal schedule and cut down the exhaustion that traveling back & forth, back & forth can bring. If that had been an option for me, I would have jumped at the chance. It wasn't offered locally when I did rads and I had to drive 100 miles there, and 100 miles back every day for 6 weeks. By far the worst part of the whole rads experience!

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  • TB90
    TB90 Member Posts: 992
    edited March 2016

    Ruthbru and I have been sharing different experiences which is important as each of us is different. I do not have children at home so that is a significant difference. And I never experienced any exhaustion throughout rads. I had to drive 1.5 hours each way each day in the heart of winter in Manitoba, Canada. I was dreading it, but believe me, there are no options where I live. I became quite fond of my daily trips that were time just for me. I never needed any assistance. Travelled with my favorite music and a great coffee and then treated myself each day in Winnipeg by a quick stop at the Italian market, etc. I actually missed this schedule once it stopped. It did prevent me from working as I spent most of the day commuting, but that was kind of fun too. Just a different experience to share. I do believe that if the plans and equipment are the same, and you have young children at home, the shorter trip may make sense. You will be busy and exhaustion may become an issue for you. Take care, and know that many of us found radiation to be very doable. Get a great cream and lather it on..

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