I have a friend with Stage 1 ****** cancer and she had the lump removed she choose the radiation option ?
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at
5:45 pm
Mara H asked:
She undergoes radation therapy 5 days a week for 6 weeks. My question is how sick will she become under this choice of radiation therapy.
Tagged with: Cancer • Radiation Therapy • Stage 1
Filed under: Cancer
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Lung Cancer
I went through this same procedure about 8 years ago. The radiation may or may not make her sick, but it will make her tired, especially as time goes on. She may also encounter some severe blisters, almost like a bad sunburn (and believe me, that is one place you don’t want to sunburn). Some patients do become nauseated, and feel soreness otherwise, but many do not. She needs to keep hydrated, and if necessary, use Aquaphor to minimize the skin tenderness. I hope she knows that if the cancer recurs, which mine did, that radiation will make her skin, muscle, and bones brittle and fragile – practically eliminating any chance for reconstruction. I hope she does not have a return of the cancer, but the statistics are not in her favor, unfortunately. I had to opt for a double mastectomy this year, and found out that the previous radiation on the right side makes it nearly impossible to have a good outcome with reconstruction. My prayers are with her. A good friend, who will drive her and talk with her – can make a world of difference.
Lung Cancer
I just completed the same course of radiation treatment a few weeks ago. I didn’t get sick at all. I didn’t get tired at all. I exercised 1/2 hour each day, ate normally, maintained my weight, and only became slightly pink in the radiated area.
Extremely important: get some 100% pure aloe vera gel. Fruit of the Earth is a good brand, CVS pharmacy has a generic version too. Clear not green gel. Get her a big bottle of it and make sure she puts it on immediately AFTER her treatment, and 8 hours after that, and 8 hours after that. 3x per day. That’s what I did and I sailed through the treatment.