Brain radiation

[Gino21]

Has any one had full brain radiation before

[kduck]

What where some of your side effects if any? What made you get an brain mri?

[Gino21 in reply to kduck]

They were checking to see if the cancer spread to the brain and it has so the Dr wants to do a full brain radiation to help with the symptoms that the cancer will cause like severe headaches, nausea and vomiting. I was wondering if any one else has gone through it.

[SabaAK]

Hi. Did you have any symptoms?

[Gino21 in reply to SabaAK]

Not at first. The mri was a routine check to see if the cancer spread. Starting to have dull headaches that my pain killers don't really take away. Mri image caught it early he said that their small right now.

[MyMiracle13]

Hello. I had WBRT August of last year. Maria

[Gino21 in reply to MyMiracle13]

How was it? I'm kind of nervous. Did you have lots of side affects? Dr wants to do 5 rounds. How many did you have?

[MyMiracle13 in reply to Gino21]

I had 10 rounds. I was already symptomatic when I had radiation. Although the lesions were small, they were widespread and they were plenty so SRS was not an option then. Before I had my radiation, I had Horner’s Syndrome. I also experienced weakness in my upper and lower limbs, weight loss and lack of appetite. I also have lung lesions by the way. The actual radiation is just minutes but before that, they have to make a plan and a mask for you. It took around 3 months for my recovery and for my hair to grow back. It wasn’t easy but I’m still here by the grace of God. The side effects I had were weakness and fatigue. It took me a while to walk 10 meters without getting tired but then I persevered and now I can walk 4km in under an hour.

[Gino21 in reply to MyMiracle13]

Thanks for sharing with me. I also have it in my lungs and bones. It has now spread to my nerves in my tail bone and some small lesions in the brain. He wants to do the full brain radiation before the symptoms get too bad. I am starting to have slight headaches all the time now. He said the radiation can help with that. Scary thought about doing it to the brain

[Gino21 in reply to MyMiracle13]

Was it full brain radiation you had? Did you experience any cognitive issues after?? Were you nauseous or sick during your treatments

[MyMiracle13 in reply to Gino21]

Yes I had full brain radiation. I had no cognitive issues after because I was prescribed Memantine before the radiation and 5 months after. No I did not suffer from nausea during my treatments although I had no appetite and hardly ate. I survived on Ensure Gold HMB and Prosure. I was also scared to have it but I had no choice because it would just get worse if I didn’t have the WBRT done. I don’t have any regrets and I wish you good results. I also asked feedback from members of this forum who have undergone brain radiation and their responses have helped me a lot.

[Bestbird]

I would suggest you consult with a radiation oncologist to see whether something less invasive (with fewer side effects) is feasible. Typically if a patient has 10 or fewer lesions they may be a candidate for Gamma or Cyber Knife, which is a simple procedure and often very effective.

Below from my book, "The Insider's Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer" (which is also available as a complimentary .pdf) is an excerpt from the Brain Metastasis Chapter. For additional information, visit insidersguidembc.com

In an excellent 2019 video about the use of radiotherapy for brain metastasis, Dr. Paul Brown, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, suggested the following guidelines for radiation treatment irrespective of where the cancer originated (breast, lung, colon, etc.). Another source for the information below is Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine medscape.com/viewarticle/91...

• For patients with a single large brain metastasis, surgery plus SRS is considered the standard of care. (Adding WBRT can help prevent additional brain metastases, but it fails to improve OS and can significantly diminish cognitive capabilities and QOL).

• For patients with one or two metastases that are relatively close together but in an area of the brain where the surgeon feels it won't cause too much damage to remove them, they may be excised surgically. If the metastases are in an area of the brain where the surgeon feels it would cause too much damage to remove them, SRS with CyberKnife, which is single focused-dose radiation, is a viable option.

• For patients with oligometastases (defined in the video as one to four brain metastases), Stereotactic RadioSurgery (SRS) is recommended. Adding Whole Brain Radiation Therapy (WBRT) thereafter helps to prevent additional brain metastases, but does not improve Overall Survival (OS) and can significantly degrade cognitive abilities and Quality Of Life (QOL). Therefore, SRS is considered the standard of care for these patients.

• For patients with up to 10 metastases: According to Dr. Brufsky, many clinicians use CyberKnife in a series - two or three times for up to 10 metastases - depending on their location in the brain.

• For patients with multiple (widespread) brain metastases, or patients who have a rapid recurrence (i.e. within a few months) of brain metastases treated with SRS, Hippocampal Avoidance (HA) WBRT with Memantine HCL is recommended, although using SRS alone for patients with up to 10 brain metastases may also be a viable option. (The role of systemic therapy in this context is still being explored).