My husband (58) diagnosed with stage 3b adenocarcinoma NSCLC on July 18. Has been on Tarceva since August 1. On October 27th, we have a chest CT scan to see if it has worked. Yes, I have scanxiety.
If it has worked, radiation is next. So he has asked me what to expect with radiation.
His Tarceva has caused a bad rash that we control with medicated cream and antibiotic, and fatigue. He is still working about 4 full days a week and taking one off or working short days.
His radiation will be 5 days a week, 20 minutes, for 6 weeks, if that is our next step. So help me figure out what he might experience so I can ease his concerns.
Be real, please. Any and all side effects, and how you coped.
Thanks!
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mrsthehoney
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Sometimes the skin gets little burns but not always. Busy soothe it with cream with aloe. All people react differently. I did 38 radiation days and had hardly any side effects. I was 61 when I went thru that. Some folks lose weight. It also depends on where the tumor is. It scars inside the body but just ask your radiation oncologist. Mine was a great guy that answered the simplest questions. Also if his throat starts hurting they have a concoction that gets filled at the pharmacy that helps a bunch. Just stay calm for him and continue your research. By the way, I was 3a. Good luck to you both.
I had 3B nsclc. I did 30 radiation. You will get fatigued about 2 weeks in. Burns will be tender so use aquaphor when each treatment is over. Don’t put it on before treatment. KEEP HYDRATED. LAST 2 weeks can be a little tough. Burns can get worse. Ask for special cream and bandages. Radiation will know what to give u. Keep ur Dr informed of every change. Walking is good. Throat can get really sore. Best regards during this time
Hi I've been through rads twice for breast cancer (36 days each time) and once for lung ca. Instead of using Aquaphor, after the 1st breast ca I used Bag Balm, which is not as thick and contains antibacterial agents to stop infection. You can find it at any farm store or Walgreen's carries it in their lotions aisle. Always go to rads completely void of any lotions or powders, and apply the Bag Balm or Aquaphor about an hour after rads treatment so that it doesn't hold in the heat. The biggest problem I had with rads was increasing exhaustion. My oncologist stated that with lung ca newest research is that they can do all the rads in one massive dose instead of smaller doses over a period of time for me. Rads is not that bad at all.
They will apply small tattoos about the size of a pencil mark when they do the staging part, which is a dry run through to make sure they are radiatiing the right area, so that they can line up the rads correctly. Your husband won't feel the rads entering his body, although it is fascinating to watch the machine do its job. The tattoos don't have any feeling, although mine are permanent.
My personal biggest reaction was, because they were radiating basically the same area as the breast ca, that when I took a very bad tumble it included a broken rib - but remember, I've had far more rads than your husband will have. The wort part of rads, believe it or not, is having to go each day. That gets old really quickly, but time flies by and all of a sudden you are through it all.
Rads itself was really simple, I just laid on the table and let the machine do its thing. No immediate effects, although after awhile I found that there was burning skin at the rads site, and that is where the bag balm helped most. It really is a simple procedure and doesn't require much other than laying still on the table.
Are they doing this to shrink the tumor(s) or to kill them? For me it was to kill one one and it worked perfectly.
Please tell your husband that rads is a breeze! Stay hydrated and toward the end he may feel fatigued. That will go away in a short time. Wear loose fitting clothing so that the area is not chafed by tight clothes.
Hope this helps him feel more confident!
As for you scanxiety, I don't think about scans until the day of the scan - I go in at 8:30 for the scan and return and 3:30 for the results since I don't live far from Roswell and that way the radiologist has the time to read the scan properly. Getting the 8am scan I go alone, and for the results I take a friend with me - two sets of ears is better than one. When I was going from work to the results, I used a tape recorder so that I didn't miss anything - it helped a great deal because I was alone for the results.
I hope and pray your husband finds it as easy as I did!!
Oh, and I used the reward system so that I had something to look forward to each time - a 3 Musketeers bar or special coffee always made it more pleasant!!
I had three a and Andreacarcinoma and the radiation does make you tired at the end your throat will be sore if it's radiated in that area I had a hard time eating but I'm learning how to chew really good it will shrink the tumor so that's the main purpose of it you don't feel anything but it does cause a little bit of burning so you don't know till it's over prayers for your husband
I had 36 radiation treatments with 12 days of chemo. I would go at 8:00 for radiation and then walk down and take my chemo. Because of them being given at the same time, it is hard to distinguish which was causing the fatigue. I had stage 3b NSCLC. I lost my appetite and was extremely fatigued. It was strange that all the protein drinks had a weird taste and I finally got to the point that at the sight of one, I’d throw up. I laugh about that now but back then it wasn’t funny at all.
I was sick to my stomach but forced myself to eat. I only lost 16 lbs. and the doctor said that was good compared to a lot of people. The last 3 weeks of radiation, I had difficulty swallowing and was given a prescription to help to numb my throat so I could eat a little. I became dehydrated and was hospitalized on the next to the last day of radiation. I spent 4 days in the Critical Care Unit at Johns Hopkins, Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center.
My faith in God carried me throughout the entire process. I pray that you and your husband know Christ as your personal Savior. If so, let Him carry this burden for you and your husband. It will make things go a lot smoother. God bless you all.
As you've seen so far the problems radiation cause will be related to the location of the tumor. Fatigue is far and away the greatest complaint followed by esophagitis. Hydration is important in maintaining against fatigue but will not fix it alone. The body needs to rest to heal.
With regards to the esophagitis the others mentioned the Rx is often called Magic Mouthwash or Swish and Swallow. I found that it's effects Worked well for about 15 minute at a time.
Honey has antioxidants and has been used for millennia to heal burns inside and out. To slow the development of esophagitis you might try having him eat a tablespoon of honey AFTER his treatment. Do not use raw honey as it can contain botulins which can be dangerous when a cancer patient is immunocompromised. The darker the honey the more antioxidants it contains.
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