cindy t - bottom line is that radiation is one of the few tools we have. And for the most part, it works even if there are some discomforts during and quality of life issues afterwards. I mean what is the alternative? To not have what the big hospitals and authorities recommend because occasionally someone makes a catastrophic mistake? Everything that has ever been done in medicine, has at some point, had a huge error take place in it. Surgery, chemo, meds that you are given, name one, and I'll find you someone that was hurt by the procedure by accident. Bottom line is that vast majority of people do not have a major problem, and that is what yo have to keep in perspective.
As patients, we all have to be vigilant, know everything that we can, and not blindly go where someone wants to lead us with out second opinions and information gathering. We need to make informed, educated, decisions. But you can't let the errors of one situation out of hundreds of thousands, put you off of choosing to do what gives you the best opportunity of having a positive long-term survival prospect at the end of your treatments.
Fear of it all is part of the deal. Anyone here that says they were not afraid, from the toughest sounding guys on, is just full of crap. We were all afraid of the whole thing, from the C word, to the treatments, to the unknown. You have to toughen up and get accustomed to some of that being part of who you now are. We are all frail when mortality is part of the discussion, and our situation. Even after a decade of survival, I still am afraid and get anxiety related upset stomachs the month before my annual exams. The tough guy that fought in the rice paddies of Vietnam, the jungles of Nicaragua, and the streets of Beruit, who survived helicopter crashes and cancer, still is afraid. If you were not afraid, there would be something wrong with you.
But now you have to put on your fighters face, and walk the path. Those here know what you are going through, and you need to lean on them and whine, bitch, complain, open up abut your fears, and all that that you do not want to lay on your loved ones, because we all will understand. And these people will help you deal with it all.
