Has anyone done just a few days of radiation for pain relief?

[Flavia100]

today is the fifth and final day of my short term radiation that is intended to relieve hip and back pain. The doctors thought that this would help me considerably and as of now it hasn’t. I’m discouraged but I don’t know how long it might take for it to work as I understand it is cumulative as to how it works. I would like to know if anyone else has Tried radiation and your experiences. I don’t know what I’m gonna do if this doesn’t help.

[kearnan]

I had the breast cancer diagnosed and it was in my lungs. Then after a year it moved to my spine and the pain was tremendous and seemed to happen overnight. My onco pooh-poohed me that it was from the cancer and said nothing everything is because of the cancer. That I was getting older and it was probably arthritis. My onco then wrote me an rx for 800 mg. of ibuprofen. I still had to take like 8 of them at once just to dull the pain bc THEN I did not question doctors at all. I have learned much better now that I have to be my own advocate.

My next CT scan holes in my spine from the breast cancer (So I suffered in pain for three more months before this scan. She then referred me to their palliative care doctor who first prescribed me percocet. It was like the world opened up for me as I live alone and do not drive and I was able to walk and take the bus again and get back with my life as I could barely walk 1/2 block without having to lean on a car, a building, a mailbox.

The palliative care doctor then started me on percocet and it was great. NO PAIN. Then two weeks later COVID hit.

Then it started spreading slowly but surely in my spine and it was suggested I do radiation and I said no. Then about three months later after my ct, it was found that it had gotten bigger and was getting close to my spinal cord. I was told once it gets into my spinal cord, I would be paralyzed from the waist down and then it would be too late for radiation or any other type of procedure. I would be in a wheelchair.

Before I started the radiation I was told by my palliative care doctor that she was upping my pain medication bc after the radiation, I would feel increased pain for a while (I have no idea why) but she put me on oxycodone.

I did the radiation then (that is all I had to hear was paralyzed) and then went back to taking the pain medication and I felt no pain.

Are you on any pain medication now? Now, I am on 7 20 mg. of oxycodone per day plus a fentanyl patch. My palliative care doctor (who had worked in hospice for 10 years before coming to the cancer center said she did not believe in any people with advanced cancer that they should need to suffer with any pain and that many doctors got nervous and actually cut their patients' pain meds.) So I was lucky in that respect. So for me the radiation was more to stop the breast cancer from getting too close to my spine and by next scan, they said it had shrunk from the spinal cord so was relieved by that.

Is that pain directly attributed to the cancer or just a part of our aging process (sorry, at least me for aging LOL turned 63 in January). If it is from the cancer and they tell you that, you should be seeing a palliative care doctor. If it is not from the cancer itself, then maybe you need to see a specialist for that pain. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. The radiation was so quick. Took me longer to get undressed, put on the darn robe, have them move me around like a piece of ham and then after like five minutes, it was over.

Odd though that your state your doctors (oncologists, I presume) would say radiation before even giving pain medication first. Not sure why they would not offer you that option first before radiation. That is what they did with me. Fingers crossed. If you are in that much pain though, your doctors should be giving you adequate pain relief. I hope things turn out well for you.

[Flavia100 in reply to kearnan]

thank you so very much for sharing your story. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot. Like you I live alone and I’m older than you, L O L. I left about the part of being arranged on the radiation table like a piece of ham. How true. My pain meds at this point are hydrocodone and ibuprofen. I’ve been able to exist on that without having to go stronger. I had my last day of radiation today and I do think I’m a little bit more mobile. So I’m Hopeful but realize this is cumulative and not overnight. I see my oncologist next week so we’ll see what she says

[Bettybuckets in reply to kearnan]

I loved that you compared yourself to a ham on the table! Ha!

[AvidBooklover]

When I was first diagnosed I had three super targeted rads to my hip, the only spot where I had cancer. I had what is called pain flare on the 2nd day. But it was innocuous. That was April 2019. I started to experience symptoms of foot drop in 2020 or 2021. They say the sciatic nerve has damage either from rads or a needle from a shot hitting a nerve. Not fun, but if this is the worst that happens to me...onward!

[HoneyBadgerLady]

My mets were first discovered 2 years ago because of severe jaw pain. I had radiation treatments for several days as a pain reduction treatment. By the end of that time the jaw pain was declining and over the next couple of weeks went away entirely. Hope it works for you.

[kkrouse]

I did one week of radiation on my pelvis for pain. It took a month, but it helped a lot. The radiologist said up front that relief comes slowly with breast cancer.

Hope this helps.

[Flavia100 in reply to kkrouse]

I guess I just have to be patient. I’m seeing very minimal improvement but I know it takes time.

[Dflur]

yes, for leg and hip pain, did not work. I only did one round, 12 sessions

[Hopeful4Cure]

I hear you load and clear. I will never have rads for pain or to zap anything. I was in so much pain a few years back prior to finding cannabis oil and the essential oils that I use for pain, that I thought rads would help. Turned out, when I got MBC, the same places on my back where I had rads for pain (lumbar) is where the cancer is. Never again. Plus, when I had my rads in 2017 for left breast lump that was removed, years later I have lung damage from the rads.

[dottiem]

I am on my third day of a 10 day treatment plan. The Dr said I would not see any pain relief until the 2nd week. I am assuming the longer treatment allows the necessary dose of ras to be safer to healthy cells.

[Goga156]

My mother did one-time of radiation on pelvis for pain. After 2 months she was better and it helped her a lot.

[hopenowandtomorrow]

I had low back (sacrum pain) about 15 months ago. The scans showed random spots but no tumors in the left & right side of the sacrum. I got 10 rounds of radiation & the radiologist said give it a month to see if you have pain relief. I still had some pain so he gave me 5 more rounds 5 weeks later. Then I was completely pain-free. I was delighted!

Eight months later I moved a certain way and I had strong, hard to walk pain in my lower back. The MRI showed I had two vertical stress fractures in my sacrum. The report clearly stated that they were most likely caused from the radiation which had weakened the bone (made it more brittle).

I just recently had bone cement injected into the Sacrum fractures (a Sacroplasty). It both stabilized my skeletal system & removed the pain.

Radiation certainty has its place but I will be very cautious before having radiation in the future.

I wish you the best!

🙏❤️🙏

[GramorNonna]

I had 10 rounds of radiation to my lower spine for the pain and it helped me! Good luck, goes quickly and other than dry skin in the area I had no side effects.

[kearnan]

I was already on percocet when I had the radiation. My palliative care doctor spoke to the radiologist doctor who was going to be handling the radiation. She told me she was changing my meds to oxycodone bc she told me that the radiation would increase the pain in my spine for a few days, maybe a week or more. But it did not happen bc I guess I had the stronger meds. It shrunk it enough so that it was no longer close to the spinal cord. Once they told me I could become paralyzed if it went into my spinal cord and then it was too late so I had it done. I did not have the radiation bc of pain.