Don't feel guilty about not having side effects!! Everyone is different. I had relatively few side effects -- continued to work throughout the course of radiation and chemo, and never had a PEG tube. Best wishes for the rest of your treatment!!

Julia:

How coincidental. My real name is Julia, but am called Julie and Julieann. I live in New Market, AL, just 10 mins from Huntsville, where I previously lived for over 40 years.

julieann

Radiation techniques can vary and guidelines can be found in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for H&N cancer.

A copy of the 2009 guidelines can be found on the OCF site at http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/treatment/pdf/head-and-neck.pdf

An updated 2010 copy can be found on the NCCN site (google NCCN Guidelines).

Conventional fractionation for concurrent chemo-radiation is 70gy to the primary tumor/tumor-bed and involved nodes in 2.0gy daily fractions and 44-64gy to the uninvolved nodes that may be known drainage nodes for the primary, or are located nearby (and/or suspect occult area) in 1.6-2.0gy daily fractions.

OCF will have the new 2010 guidelines up on thee links by Monday. We just received the 2010 changes from NCCN who we have a formal agreement with. BH

Thanks Susan, I asked my RO about the amount of RT that I was receiving b/c I was concerned that it was enough "juice". I am having IMRT for 39 treatments, the last 14 are a boost to my voice box only. He dropped off my lymph nodes after 25 treatments. I have been able to eat basically anything I want the whole time and doc thinks that is one of the reasons I am handling the treatments so well. I do have a very high pain thresh hold . I have actually gained 5 lbs. Every week I think this is the week I will hit the floor and now I am running out of weeks. This is a good thing !

Most get the max radiation which is appx 70 Gys and that is spread over usually 7 weeks, 5 days a week or 35 treatments. So 70 divided by 35 = 2 Gys per day avg. Some RO's accelerate the radiation by doubling up on one day of the week, usually Friday, and by doing so they hope the extra radiation (boost) will have more of an impact and therefore they shorten the weeks by one.

Thanks David for the info. I did ask today what my gy was and you were right, it is 70gy. I only have 7 more treatments for a total of 39 which puts me close to 8 weeks total treatment time. Then I get to wait for the PET scan at 2 months. I guess these rechecks will be scary but I might as well get used to them early on. I am assuming the IMRT is one reason I have not had such horrible side effects. I look forward to saying mine treatment was YEARS ago !

Oh my goodness ! My brother calls me Julie as did my mother. I am a 3rd generation Huntsvillian that relocated to the Gulf Coast when my husband retired. Used to come to New Market and get watercress years ago. I still have lots of family and friends in Huntsville. My maiden name was Love, went to HHS and my family had the old Twickenham Hotel downtown before it was torn down for the parking garage. My 40 year class reunion is coming up this summer. It is a small world sometimes, huh !