I feel so sick by Wednesday (weekends are off) that I don't think I can handle it. Last week I missed Fri, and this week Thursday

I am having tomotherapy to the face. Tomotherapy is supposed to be easier...

Medications, more medications, one day at a time. I can't stress enough staying the course - people who don't complete their treatment have very poor survival rates.

They also always told me to not have treatment on an empty stomach as well. All ionizing radiation is tough - doesn't matter whether it's IMRT, XRT or Tomotherapy, but it normally doesn't make you sick (the adjunctive chemo, well that's another matter). Talk to the RO and the MO and see what solutions they can offer you to mamage this. You have to get through it.

trt,

Ditto what Gary says!!!!

My RO stressed the importance of completing the WHOLE therapy on time. He would not guess my chance of survival without completion but he did tell me that nonsurvival statistics are driven UP by people that are to sick to complete the TX.

I remember in my last week of Tx, I was soooo dehydrated and sick that I was in the hospital at Moffitt and they wheeled me down in a wheelchair to get my rad. I don't even think I opened my eyes the whole trip because I was so weak. Many, many times I told my wife that I was not concerned about the cancer anymore because the Tx was going to kill me first. But I rationalized that most people completed their Tx and they must have felt just as bad as I was so I just kept coming back until it was over.

Gather your inner strenght and tell yourself to push ahead. This is like cancer boot camp; like the worst coach you could have; like climbing Mt Everest without a guide or proper equipment. Keep the docs and nurses appraised and hope they can comfort you. Nothing seemed to work for me but in hindsight I was my own enemy as I did not have the benefit of this great site to help and guide me until 3 weeks AFTER my Tx ended.

One day at a time. Don't allow yourself to miss. You will be amazed (after the fact) on what you can and will survive. I too was sooo sick and sooo dehydrated. Tell the machine to hit you with it's best shot, and then come back the next day and do it again. Hang in there!

trt,

Have to agree with everyone else here. I apparently was one of the luckier people with radiation because it really did not make me sick. Keeping nutrition consistent was a huge factor in that. Keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing helps as well. I only missed one day of treatment and that was because we had several inches of snow falling that day (BIG DEAL in Dallas ). Muster up the strength and fight this hard.

And like David -- I didn't find this site until 4 years after my TX. It is doable!

Jim

trt,

One day at a time with a lot of pain and nausea meds for me. That's how I did it. You have to stay on course for finish. I knew that every day I missed was a day added at the end for me. Sure it was very rough, I lost a lot of weight, spent a lot of time staring at the kitchen sink throwing up nothing but mucous, and sitting on the toilet trying and trying. But no way was I going to skip a day. Hang in there and get it over with and let the healing start.

trt,

Just get on that table and consider that machine to be your best friend at the moment. Just do as I did and think about how each of those 14 hits from different positions daily were knocking off cancer cells little by little! I kept repeating that to myself while on the table daily during the last couple of weeks of it. I also interjected some prayer as well which I think helped me for what it is worth.

Bill D.

hello trt, I did'nt have alot of trouble with rad. causing any sickness. My heart goes out to you though. I'll be cheering for you because all of what the others have said is true. If you can hang in there. Me and my family will be praying for you and I'll be sending up a warrior cry for you. I know you can do this. Take one minute at a time and one treatment at a time if you have to. What helped me each day was just focusing on what I had to do right at that moment, it must have been pretty distracting for me to really focus because before I would realize it that task would be done and I would get some relief and move on to the next thing. Good Luck and You can do this. We are rooting for you. :-)

TRT,

To you and everyone else who has had to endure the Rad and chemo..my heart goes out to you ..I had differing opinions and opted not for rad (opinions mostly leaning that way ) ..I do not know whether or not that was the right choice..I know the sickenss I felt in my stomach at the thought of going through it... I can only tell you that I TRULEY ADMIRE the courage that each one of you has to face this and go through with it ...You can get through it they all say ...Love yourself above all else and tell this horrible disease that you are stronger that it can ever be! MY heart and my thoughts are with you and My you find the daily strength you need to get through this .

Sharlee

Your feelings at this time match identically to my husband. He decided to stop treatment last week beceause of being so sick. (Only 8 rad left and 1 chemo) They put him in the hospital due to severe dehydration and a small infection. Everyone at the Center agreed that treatment MUST be completed. Know there is an end and a good reason for the pain. I guess, no pain - no gain. Stay positive and never loose sight of the end of treatment. Our prayers are with you and everyone else that goes through this challenge.

TRT GO WITH IT ,you realy need to complete treatment. may god help you along the way my prayers and thoughts are with you best regards maz

Thanks everyone. This has given me strength to go back and continue.

Good for you, trt! - It's amazing the strength we find when we really have to! Keep thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel and take it one step at a time. My son also stopped tx a couple of times. At the worst point, when I thought he had no more strength left to fight, it did come from someplace and he kept going because he wanted to see the end of it. When it's all over, you will be amazed at how strong you are and you will know that you can handle anything else in life that comes your way. I'm adding my good thoughts and prayers to the others here. Just know that we are with you, and keep up the good fight!

To trt and Linda and Todd- If you are going to fight this damned disease- then you have to fight it with every ounce of strenght you have- you guys keep on going and come out smiling at the end of the journey . Amy in the Oz

Wow, I am so much worse (3rd weekend). I did not recover, like in the first 2 weeks. Trouble eating and drinking. Everything tastes awful including the nutritional shakes. I wish I could pour them directly into the throat without tasting smelling.

trt,
Get a stomach tube. Practically everyone resists the idea at first, but once done, everyone says....RELIEF! It no longer matters how something tastes or smells.....it just goes down the tube and into the stomach, providing all the nutrition you need. No fuss, no muss. And when it is no longer needed, it is removed in the twinkling of an eye (literally).

Well I read about these. A lot of people mention throwing up and all kinds of difficulties.

trt-
I managed to lose 45 pounds WITH a stomach tube! Without it I would have died. Don't worry so much about side effects. You can survive them. Concentrate on being agressive in your treatment. Life is worth the battle! Love, Kris

My RO gave me two 1 week breaks at 3 and 5 weeks to heal during the IMRT radiation. He told me it would not matter at all. As long as they were no longer than a week. I needed them too. He told me that completion is important. He told me Short breaks do not effect the outcome.

Best of luck to you. I used a lot of Roxanol, percocet, ice chips, and frozen drinks to get through it. (and a lot of whining and complaining to my wife.)

The mouth sores and burns were the worst. i used Kanka to coat them so they would heal and chloroseptic spray, magic mouthwash and lidocain to soothe the pain.

I did not get the PEG tube. I probably should have.

take care and god bless.

Like Gary and David, my doctors told me that the ultimate benefits were found in completing treatment without missing any days. No one ever suggested a weeks break in between, in fact, it was the main goal to stay on schedule. Go for it, get it done, then let the healing begin!

I had a similar experience. I didn't have a PEG either, and wound up in hospital twice in the last two weeks of rad. As sick as I was at that point, they wheeled my bed downstairs each day, gave me my rad, and wheeled me back to my room.

My RO was really adamant about not interupting my Rad. Early on in treatment the machine that I was assigned for treatment broke down. The day was busy, and everyone had full schedules. He had me shuttled back and forth between three other machines until they were able to fit me in two hours later.

In retrospect, as much as I would have loved a break towards the end, I don't think it would have made much difference in the way I felt at that point. It would have just delayed the 'graduation day' ceremonies. My radiation techs have a tradition...a cupcake with a candle after your last rad treatment. For me, it was a can of Ensure with a candle...my throat and mouth were WAAY too sore to swallow cupcakes!

There were one or two times when I was so desperate for a break that my RO allowed me a day off, but he said I couldn't have any more of an interruption than that.

Allen -- you mentioned chloraseptic spray (among other things). Doesn't that contain alcohol? If it does, I can't imagine using that during radiation.

Cathy