Although my chemotherapy treatments were scheduled to occur first, followed by radiation sessions, You often discuss radiation options with the radiation oncologist early. He attempted to postpone our meeting until all chemo treatments were finished, yet we wanted to hear his perspective on treatment protocol. That way we could mull and study the proposal and prepare more questions before radiation started. The doctor compromised by conducting a telehealth session with us to share his thoughts base on my pathology, surgery, and other tests.
His suggested plan included 6 weeks of daily Monday-Friday targeted radiation of my right breast and armpit. They would be short sessions (5 minutes long), with most of my time spent in a car getting to their location from our house. It would be a long drive (one hour each way) for a few minutes of treatment. Every day – Monday through Friday. I’m glad I drive a hybrid that gets 30+ MPG. At least the treatment itself was not supposed to be painful, with burning sensation showing up in the last few weeks.
We asked why BOTH chemo and radiation are necessary. The radiation oncologist explained that chemo targets the entire body through the bloodstream whereas radiation targets a specific area, He shared that chemo before radiation would make cancer cells more susceptible to radiation damage. Plus, radiation would be more effective at controlling and preventing local cancer recurrence when combined with chemotherapy. He also shared that studies have shown that protocols combining chemotherapy and radiation could lead to better survival outcomes for certain types of cancer. Lots of “coulds”, “shoulds”, and other qualifiers in that conversation. Enough to offer spots of hope, while offering no guarantees.
Radiation will be mostly painless and they have creams to lessen the effects of radiation burn that can build up by the final weeks of treatment. And so it continues…Cut – Poison – Burn.
My Next Steps 