My First Few Radiation Treatments

Mood: Nervous ๐Ÿ˜ž

My first radiation treatment was on the December 19th and it went well. My actual time on the table was about 15 minutes as they have a large area to treat. I don’t feel anything during the treatment and much like during an MRI, I have to lay completely still. I don’t have full mobility in my left arm so they made a mold that they place under my arm to help me get into the proper position for my treatment.

My second radiation treatment was yesterday, December 20th and I am still doing well. I am getting used to the routine when I go to my appointments and I was told that I will meet with my doctor every Monday. I won’t blog every time I go as I have 25 treatments over 5 weeks. They told me to expect some redness and for the fatigue to return about halfway through the treatments. 23 to go….ugh

What is the success rate of radiation treatments? โ€œIt appears that external-beam radiation therapy is a superior treatment in some cases. When patients are treated with modern external-beam radiation therapy, the overall cure rate was 93.3% with a metastasis-free survival rate at 5 years of 96.9%.

Radiation therapy uses targeted energy (e.g., X-rays, radioactive substances) to destroy cancer cells, shrink tumors, and/or alleviate certain cancer-related symptoms. It may be used:

  • As a primary treatment to destroy cancer cells
  • In combination with other treatments to stop the growth of cancer cells
  • Before another treatment to shrink a tumor
  • After another treatment to stop the growth of any remaining cancer cells
  • To relieve symptoms of advanced cancer

What do you think?

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