The wife's tumour is growing again. Radiation Therapy next.

Jethro Rocker said:
Thanks, exactly what they do to pinpoint the zaps. A metal cage. She is ok with that stuff, if it was me I am not so sure.
My hairdresser's husband went through that as well.
Hope everything worked for you Kerry.
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It took a while to recover from the radiation but it seems to be working. In my case it is not a cure it shrinks the tumor so that I can enjoy life.
 
I have had radiation to the head, but not the brain. I had cancer in a tonsil and a couple adjoining lymph nodes, and after having surgery to remove it, I had something like 2 1/2 months of radiation (I also had chemo). Tbh, not a fan.

14 years later, the radiation burns in my mouth have finally cooled down. But it took years.

The radiation has also basically destroyed my teeth and jaw. About 6 or 7 years ago, my jaw started deteriorating. The oral surgeons tried to stop the osteoradionecrosis by shaving the destroyed parts off of the jaw.

It didn't work.

My jaw experienced a "pathological fracture." Meaning it snapped, but not because of any trauma.

I was in terrible pain for a couple months, whacked on opioids, until I could get surgery. I was on the table for 7 hours or so. Piece of my hip bone (Iliac Crest) was removed and put in place of destroyed jawbone, and veins removed from my ankle to try to get oxygen to the new "jaw" so it didn't die too. Was in hospital ICU for about a week.

But wait, there's more.

After the jaw was replaced, the radiation damage to the neck flesh on that side then kept the neck from healing up. So I had to get the neck flesh replaced as well, in a second operation. My pectoral muscle on that side of my chest was excised (mostly) and flipped up into my neck. I was told it would be hardly noticeable.

That was a lie.

My neck is significantly permanently disfigured on that side, as the pec muscle is much bigger than the neck it replaced. You know those frogs that have an inflatable sack on their neck? Think something like that. Not that dramatic of course, but very noticeable. It's rare I leave the house or allow myself to be photographed without it being covered. Even though I'm the lead singer in my main band, and would otherwise be expected to stand center stage, now I stand stage left so that, even with the neck covered, there are fewer photos of the "bad side" of my neck, and fewer in the audience can see it. I wince when I pass a mirror at home. It looks bad.

Every evening I have to brush, floss, use a prescription mouthwash, brush a second time, then put in a "flouride tray" for a while, to hopefully keep what's left of my teeth from falling apart. Dentists really can't do substantial work on my teeth; because of the radiation damage, it might not ever heal up. My "oral medicinist" (dentist who specializes in radiation damage to teeth) has forbidden me from even getting them cleaned (which of course makes them look horrible) for fear that more damage might get done. The oral surgeon who'd shaved down the jaw in the first place has described the current prognosis as "benign neglect."

I don't mean to scare or be overly dramatic, and hopefully the radiation your wife needs will avoid any sort of similar problems. But aside from being above ground, I cannot find anything good to say about radiation. Another small point, the radiation I got also killed hair follicles. In the "entry wound" area of my left jaw, I cannot grow whiskers to this day, and the "exit wound" area at the right back nape of my neck the hair is considerably thinned.

Prayers and mojo to you and your missus.
 
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Brian Krashpad said:
I have had radiation to the head, but not the brain. I had cancer in a tonsil and a couple adjoining lymph nodes, and after having surgery to remove it, I had something like 2 1/2 months of radiation (I also had chemo). Tbh, not a fan.

14 years later, the radiation burns in my mouth have finally cooled down. But it took years.

The radiation has also basically destroyed my teeth and jaw. About 6 or 7 years ago, my jaw started deteriorating. The oral surgeons tried to stop the osteoradionecrosis by shaving the destroyed parts off of the jaw.

It didn't work.

My jaw experienced a "pathological fracture." Meaning it snapped, but not because of any trauma.

I was in terrible pain for a couple months, whacked on opioids, until I could get surgery. I was on the table for 7 hours or so. Piece of my hip bone (Iliac Crest) was removed and put in place of destroyed jawbone, and veins removed from my ankle to try to get oxygen to the new "jaw" so it didn't die too. Was in hospital ICU for about a week.

But wait, there's more.

After the jaw was replaced, the radiation damage to the neck flesh on that side then kept the neck from healing up. So I had to get the neck flesh replaced as well, in a second operation. My pectoral muscle on that side of my chest was excised (mostly) and flipped up into my neck. I was told it would be hardly noticeable.

That was a lie.

My neck is significantly permanently disfigured on that side, as the pec muscle is much bigger than the neck it replaced. You know those frogs that have an inflatable sack on their neck? Think something like that. Not that dramatic of course, but very noticeable. It's rare I leave the house or allow myself to be photographed without it being covered. Even though I'm the lead singer in my main band, and would otherwise be expected to stand center stage, now I stand stage left so that, even with the neck covered, there are fewer photos of the "bad side" of my neck, and fewer in the audience can see it. I wince when I pass a mirror at home. It looks bad.

Every evening I have to brush, floss, use a prescription mouthwash, brush a second time, then put in a "flouride tray" for a while, to hopefully keep what's left of my teeth from falling apart. Dentists really can't do substantial work on my teeth; because of the radiation damage, it might not ever heal up. My "oral medicinist" (dentist who specializes in radiation damage to teeth) has forbidden me from even getting them cleaned (which of course makes them look horrible) for fear that more damage might get done. The oral surgeon who'd shaved down the jaw in the first place has described the current prognosis as "benign neglect."

I don't mean to scare or be overly dramatic, and hopefully the radiation your wife needs will avoid any sort of similar problems. But aside from being above ground, I cannot find anything good to say about radiation. Another small point, the radiation I got also killed hair follicles. In the "entry wound" area of my left jaw, I cannot grow whiskers to this day, and the "exit wound" area at the right back nape of my neck the hair is considerably thinned.

Prayers and mojo to you and your missus.
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Wow a bad scene. That is the worst experience I have heard relating to radiation.
Hopefully she is saddled with few side effects as per my hairdresser- uh, hair cutter - uh, hair dealie girl's hubby.
That's a horrid story.

This sounds like a much shorter bout of radiation given the nature of the procedure here.
 
Jethro Rocker said:
Wow a bad scene. That is the worst experience I have heard relating to radiation.
Hopefully she is saddled with few side effects as per my hairdresser- uh, hair cutter - uh, hair dealie girl's hubby.
That's a horrid story.

This sounds like a much shorter bout of radiation given the nature of the procedure here.
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I hope so for her sake. Way back in the day, before radiation for mouth/neck cancer, they would just automatically pull all the teeth of the patient, because of these problems.

They gave me that option and I told them what to do with it. If I could've gotten implants and then had the radiation, I would've done that, but 14 years ago that was not an option. Hopefully the difference in the treatment/ailment, and the 14 years of advancement in techniques and technology, will make a big difference for your wife. Because this has not been a walk in the park for me.

Which is not to say I've let it slow me down, either. Aside from now being "that idiot shemagh guy." ;)

BK Crash Pad at Boo 2023-ANIMATION.gif
 
Brian Krashpad said:
I hope so for her sake. Way back in the day, before radiation for mouth/neck cancer, they would just automatically pull all the teeth of the patient, because of these problems.

They gave me that option and I told them what to do with it. If I could've gotten implants and then had the radiation, I would've done that, but 14 years ago that was not an option. Hopefully the difference in the treatment/ailment, and the 14 years of advancement in techniques and technology, will make a big difference for your wife. Because this has not been a walk in the park for me.

Which is not to say I've let it slow me down, either. Aside from now being "that idiot shemagh guy." ;)

View attachment 105358
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Since it is not malignant and in a different area I am hoping they won't be any worse than some of the others I have heard. No teeth etc involved but there is a brain....
 
UPDATE
Sounds very positive. Remember this is a benign lesion so way less radiation is required. It is tolerated very well and will be daily M-F for 6 weeks. MRI and lazer assisted. Small bits nuked every day.
It is NOT going to debulk it in any way, just make the cells no longer multiply. Not really the same as for cancer.
Sounds like the worst side effect may be - but very slim chances as he puts it - a slight cognitive issue, minor lapses in memory. But this is unlikely.
It will NOT cause cancer it is relatively low dose radiation it just isn't a thing with this. Fatigue will follow treatments.
So it seems like a very positive thing, be nice to stop this from slowly growing.
 
Jethro Rocker said:
UPDATE
Sounds very positive. Remember this is a benign lesion so way less radiation is required. It is tolerated very well and will be daily M-F for 6 weeks. MRI and lazer assisted. Small bits nuked every day.
It is NOT going to debulk it in any way, just make the cells no longer multiply. Not really the same as for cancer.
Sounds like the worst side effect may be - but very slim chances as he puts it - a slight cognitive issue, minor lapses in memory. But this is unlikely.
It will NOT cause cancer it is relatively low dose radiation it just isn't a thing with this. Fatigue will follow treatments.
So it seems like a very positive thing, be nice to stop this from slowly growing.
Click to expand...

Good luck with this for your Mrs. And you as well Geoff!
 
EC Strat said:
So sorry to read this At least it’s slow growing and benign. PITA but manageable

My wife is a breast cancer survivor.
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Yeah sounds like a fairly decent process, considering. My mom had radiation in 1974 for cancer and they inserted 2 radium rods into her during surgery. No one could see her that day and people came in in big lead suits. Next day they surgically removed them.
Times have changed.
 
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