HI All - I am in my 4th week of treatment and will be having a PEG tube put in on Friday as my food/fluid intake is greatly decreasing. Since the tube is goind in on Friday, my RO is recommending taking a few days off from radiation - Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

Has anyone else had to take 'breaks' from treatment? I am concerned about interrupting the effectiveness of continued treatment (though my treatment is on 5x per week, no Saturdays or Sundays).

Thanks,
Nanchy

Hi Nancy,if at all possible I would not take a break fom the radiation. Having a PEG inserted is a fairly minor procedure and you should be well straight after it. Is there another reason your RO thinks you take a few days off.
Tammy

It's best not to stop, but sometimes it is necessary. My last treatment I had a five day break, due to hurricane Sandy shutting down the hospital. Two days were made up by going for a 6th day. I missed two treatments due to being hospitalized for a blood transfusion. These, and the rest of thd missed days were added at the end, which your RO may do the same. Interrupting treatment gives cancer cells a chance to regenerate. They could put a nasal tube in instead, if for a short duration like 6 weeks, which may involve no days lost. I read of radiation stoppage to be the equivalent of a 1 percent reduction of overall survival, but your doctor may be saying this for good reasons. Good luck with everything.

Listen to your doctor. I had a break in radiation because my neck was so badly burned. I have had nothing but clear scans in 3 1/2 years. It is probably best not to take a break, but do what your doctor recommends. They did add a few extra radiation treatments on at the end for me.

Im surprised your doctor is suggesting you skip some days. You may be a bit sore for a couple days after having the tube installed. Im sure your doc has their reasons for skipping days, you will probably have the days tacked onto the end.

It will take some practice to get the hang of using the tube. Please ask if you have questions and we can help give you some pointers. Even with the tube, make sure you continue to swallow water every single day. Just by taking small sips thru out the day will help your body not to forget how to swallow. Its far harder to relearn this function than you would think.

Nutrition and hydration are the key to getting thru this easier. Every single day you need to take in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water. When you get the tube, ask for a pump too. That way you can let it run while you sleep and make it so much easier to take in enough. It really does make a big difference.

Good luck with your surgery!

Christmas and New Year's came right in the middle of my husband's treatment. Because of the holidays, he was given two session days three times so that the staff could have their holidays. The RO told us that he knew it wasn't the most pleasant of things to do but interruption would have an adverse effect long term. John also got a feeding tube on a Friday and went right back to radiation after the weekend. It wasn't a big deal really. Incidentally, John got the bolus feeding tube which does not necessitate the use of a pump. We rather like it as a feed takes no more than ten minutes.

Ditto what gm said. It's a very simple procedure. Don't skip any treatments unless necessary. Take care.

Let me clarify about the pump a little better. There are 3 types of feeding methods. Gravity is where it slowly runs into the tube. Bolus is using a syringe to do the feeding and push where you push it in with a syringe. The feeding pump is a piece of equipment obtained thru a prescription from a medical supply company. It will enable the tube user to hook up a bag at night to run while they sleep or even while sitting watching tv. Some patients cant tolerate the other feeding methods. I tried every other way to do the feedings but each way was too fast and created problems for me. The only way I could do a feeding was to use the pump. Most often if a person experiences problems with using liquid nutrition it can be handled by slowing down the speed of the feeding and watering it down.

The most common types of feeding tubes are the PEG tube, J/G tube, and the Mikey button. Most members get the PEG tube which goes right into the stomach and has a 'tail' sticking out. The Mikey button is like the PEG tube but its flush to the skin and can be changed at home when needed. A J/G tube has 2 sections, one going into the stomach and the other going into the area of the intestines right past the stomach. Not as many patients get the J/G tube or Mikey button. I have experience in both the PEG tube and the J/G tube as I have used both for a few years.

Please let me know if you need any help with learning how to use the tube. It might be a good idea to ask for a visiting nurse to check on you and the feeding tube. You may be entitled to a few visits which could be very helpful in adapting.

Good luck Friday!!!

Hi, Nancy.

I'm am a Mass General/Mass Eye & Ear patient. I'm not sure where you are getting your treatments, but I noticed that you also live in MA.

I finished my treatment for my second round of cancer on 10/31/12.

My second round (dx and treatment) was virtually the same as yours if you look at my signature. I had to take a couple of days off once, too. From chemo and rads. I was hospitalized due to neutropenia. I would think that if you are at a top cancer center, then you can trust your team's decision. That's what's good about the team approach. Many talented, experienced clinicians are taking good care of you.

Best of luck with the feeding tube and getting adequate water/nutrition. I many difficulties with my feeding tubes (yes, tubes). Those suckers caused me more problems that I care to remember,but that's not the norm.

Please keep us posted and hang in there with the rest of your treatments. We are here for you!

xoxo,
Kerri

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies; any missed days will be added to the end so I will have the full 35 session.

Kerri -
I had my surgeries (node removal and tonscillectomy) done at MEEI (by Dr. Kevin Emerick). Since I live closer to Worcester I am having my rad/chemo treatments at UMMass in Worcester. Dr. Emerick and my local MO & RO all consulted and worked the treatment plan together.

Any missed RO days from the PEG placement will be added on to the end. The tube goes in tomorrow (Friday) and if things go smoothly, I am going to request Radiation on Monday & Tuesday (rather than waiting until Wednesday as the RO suggested.) Right now my throat is quite sore - some bloody tissue and mucous, so I am hoping the PEG procedure is uneventful and doesn't further irritate my throat.

Thx,
Nancy

Hi, Nancy.

I hope the PEG placement goes well. You'll just be sore in the tummy for a few days and turning in bed/coughing might hurt a bit. Brace your tummy with a firm throw pillow if you are going to cough or sneeze and that will help with the pain.

Your throat shouldn't be any worse due to the procedure. They shouldn't have to intubate you for this placement, just IV sedation. You will most likely be able to go to rads on MOnday if you truly feel up to it. I understand that you want to "git 'er done"!

Best wishes for tomorrow! BTW, my doctor is Daniel Deschler, MD...love him to pieces!

xoxo,
Kerri

Based on what I was told, you really can not make up for a break by just adding them to the end. Also, the more treatments you have had the less likely a small break will degrade your overall treatment effectiveness.

I heard the same, and agree.

I missed two treatments during my rads - once because of a holiday and once the machine broke down. They actually doubled me up the next day... 😝