My sister had her first rad treatment for her parotid gland cancer yesterday. It did NOT go well. They had all sorts of problems with the machine and kept her strapped into that mask for way longer than they'd said. She isn't normally claustrophobic but came out crying. I did have a question if anyone has any thoughts - I had asked her doc about Amofostine and he said sure she could try it. Yesterday he wasn't there and I asked her to talk to the technician and he said one of the docs doesn't want patients to use it. Anyway, we didn't push it as she's been very sick and lost more weight from a stomach virus and I figured the last thing she needed was something that could make her feel more nauseaus. I was a little perturbed though as we had talked about it and now this tech is acting like he didn't know that. Shouldn't it be in her chart? Why would they NOT recommend it if it has the potential to help save saliva gland function? I know it's hard to tolerate for a lot of people, but isn't it worth trying? Thanks in advance for any advice!


Robin