 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | The type of radiation you will most likely get and is now the standard is IMRT which stands for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. This method allows a greater targeted area than IMPT (Proton Therapy) which is why it is deemed more suitable for H & N cancers where they want to make sure they kill as much, if not all, of the cancer present in your oral cavity. IMPT is more suitable for harder to reach cancers, like brain but one day may have applications for H & N patients. IMRT is better than it's predecessor, RT, in that it does less damage to your "good cells" and therefore leaves you with less side effects. Have you been tested for HPV? Are they discussing any surgery? Were you a tobacco user?
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
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