My husband is going to start his radiation next week. The doctor said that he can ask for the time of the day for treatment. I am wondering what time of the day is better, morning or afternoon. I think if it is in the morning, he can have the rest of the day for himself to do anything he wants. But if it is in the afternoon, he can come home and rest till the next morning. Has anyone found there is a better time or it does not matter? Thanks for your help.

Yan

Hi Yan, I had 6 full weeks daily of radiation a long time ago (6 yrs) and if I recall correctly, I was all over the map for the time of day I had it. I usually opted for the mid morning to early afternoon and I had to drive myself there to and from...I sometimes cried all the way not wanting to go but knowing I had to if I wanted to survive. Well, it must have worked cause here I am 6 yrs later so whatever works for you and your hubby...DO IT. I really wasn't tired (I had no chemo) till about the 4th week when it seemed to affect my swallowing. I do remember resting a lot in front of the tv set so maybe the morning is better for your hubby. This way he can rest and you can still be free without worry to run any errands you may have without tiring him out. It does get better in time....God is good....

Yan, I'd ask if they have a time that is less busy. That way waiting should be shorter. For me, I always chose late in the afternoon.

If he is having chemo, always make the radiation first. In California the machines are busy 14 hours a day -there is never a non-busy time. They run patients though like cattle. I chose 10-11:00am to avoid the commute traffic. My Cisplatin Tx would be in the early afternoon.

Yan, I am currently in treatment. I am generally the first person in the machine each day. My appointment is for 8:00 but more often than not I am in and out between 7:45 and 7:55. Being first eliminates the wait, unless there is a machine malfunction. Also, my chemo is scheduled for right after rad treatment so once I am done I just head on up to the third floor for that and all is finished somewhere between 12:00 and 1:00.

Hello Yan

My appointment time was early evening. Sometimes I felt ill after the radiation and was able to go to bed and often sleep through the worst of the after-effects.

Another cancer patient advised me to do this before I began and I am pleased I was able to follow her advice as it gave me the mornings when I felt a little better.

I didn't have chemo, so that wasn't a consideration.

Wishing you well, love from Helen

Thanks for those who responded. It is helpful. But as you all said, it primarily depends on the availability of the machine as well as the chemo schedule. My husband will also have the chemo and we were already been warned that the scheduling may not be easy. Cross our fingers. Thanks again for all your help.

Yan

yeah, I ahd chemo too and scheduling was tricky for me. Is he having amifostine (ethyol) shots beforehand? If so, he will need to get extra hydration before the shots and then the rad needs to follow the shot almost immediately, ideally within 15 min-half an hour. The extra hydration takes some time , so you don't want a really early time.

But if you are having chemo too, you will most likely have that after the radiaton, and usually it takes several hours so you can't go too late either. As I recall, my rad time was 11:30 AM and that made a really tight schedule for the chemo after. Ideally, 10:30 probably would have been better but I didn't have total choice of times because it was a very busy facility--as they all are.