"Above & Beyond" Member (300+ posts) Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 837 | Tracy,
This part of the radiation is where it gets really tough for a lot of people. I was 39 and had no other health problems at the time of my treatment, and when I was around the same place as your father, I also thought it would be better to die than to go on. I argued with my radiation oncologist about the need for continuing, and he convinced me I had to keep on with it (although at one point he did let me have a break of a day or two).
Your father's medical team should be doing whatever is possible to manage his pain and to monitor his nutrition levels to help him get through this -- not only through the end of treatment, but well beyond that until the effects start to let up.
Cathy
Tongue SCC (T2M0N0), poorly differentiated, diagnosed 3/89, partial glossectomy and neck dissection 4/89, radiation from early June to late August 1989
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