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by MisterBastahrd 989 days ago
Most chemo nowadays will make you feel sick for a day or two, but they also usually give you something to manage the symptoms. If it had been a few days since his last dosage, he was probably feeling decent all other things considered. Radiation therapy, on the other hand, is still being burned alive from the inside out, and even opioids are insufficient most of the time. My dad tried to ration my mom's painkillers during her treatments below what was prescribed for her. I told him I was going to quit my job and drive down there to keep him away from her if he wasn't going to be supportive.
2 comments
borbulon 989 days ago
even radiation is different for different people - I have had a couple of treatments for brain metastases and due to my proximity to Boston I am lucky to get the most up-to-date treatments available. There's something called Proton Beam Stereotactic Radiosurgery which is a single session, they are somehow able to curve the beam so it enters in three different places and the place where the beam(s) meet is the place that gets the treatment. It's a single session and I don't have any side effects at all.

But yes, when I spoke to radiation oncologist when I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago (and before they had a full picture of what my cancer looked like), he told me to expect to be hospitalized multiple times because the lymph nodes they'd treat were so close to my esophagus and the treatments would burn my espohagus. "Thankfully" the cancer was spread too far and the field was too large for radiation, so the only radiation treatments I've had have been the ones described above.

More info on the different kinds of Stereotactic Radiosurgery: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/stereotactic-rad...

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lostapathy 989 days ago
Modern management of side effects can help a lot, but it's not a surefire thing for any given patient on any given chemo.

When I did chemo, I had cycles with 5 days on - and I couldn't do anything useful during that week, or most of the next week. It was, truly, an awful experience. I completely understand and respect how some people can decide treatment isn't worth it and surrender to the disease.

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