Radiation Treatment and Prayers

Your MIL is going to "have to want to fight" the battle to succeed. She is also going to have to eat lots of nuts and dairy products to help with the radiation treatment. She may also get a metallic taste in the beginning but that does go away. If she believes in a higher being now is the time to get in touch with her inner self.

Treatments are usually for 6 to 8 weeks. The first part of the daily treatment is the basic treatment. The second part is the one or two weeks of deep down treatment. You will be advised not to miss any treatments as that will set you back in the scheduled routine. They may have built a body double for her to lay in in order to do the treatment depending on where the actual cancer tumors are located in her lung(s).

Know that she is giong to feel tired about two to three weeks into the treatment. Let her rest when she can and be positive.

I will keep you and your family in my thoughts for this holiday season and the future.

The other S.

PS I had cancer treatments 15 years ago. My drive to and from the doctor was about two hours each way and the treatment was all of about 10 minutes. During my drives I got in touch with my inner self and became at peace with my life and what was in it. Her priorites may change - what was important isn't and what wasn't is. Get her a journal to write in.

I'm so sorry, Mama. I'm sure I don't know enough to say anything of any value about this, but I just want to tell you that your MIL is in my prayers. I'm sure that tumors on her brain can cause a lot of neurological symptoms as well as the radiation.

I'm glad she has you and your family to be there for her now.

Hugs,
Dawn

My mother just got done with radiation, but for her it was early stage 2 breast cancer, so we're not really talking about the same thing. They were able to take the whole mass out during surgery and the radiation was cautionary and preventative.

What I can say is that it didn't make my mom sick or anything, but it did make her tired. She was very sore at the radiation site, and there is a cream that can be used to treat this, but that has gone away pretty quickly after the treatments stopped.

All my best.

My dad had lung cancer that was fast growing and he went through radiation. It's pretty bad. It required he went every day for a treatment. It took away hunger and made things taste bad for him. He got weaker and weaker till he died about 2 months after his diagnosis. If we had known what was going to happen there is no way we would have put him through it.
You Mil may be compleatly different. It was 14 years ago. Still I would be following up on your children and their exposure to this kind of sadness.

Prayers and all kinds of love hurled in your direction.

Yes - it generally is progressively tiring and so patients often feel okay for the first week but then it starts taking its toll. It can cause some burning on the skin too, particularly over time. There have been some clinical trials by a radiation oncologist of some nutritional things that can be done to help with energy and stamina during radiation treatments. That might be a help to her.

There's also some work being done on stopping the metastasis of tumors and a lot of people using food science as well as an alkaline diet to shrink tumors.

The radiation is designed to shrink those tumors - it may be that something in her brain is causing the loss of use of her arm (similar to a stroke), or possibly something in her chest pressing on the nerves involved. Hopefully she will get some relief from the treatments but they can be slow.

If she wants to fight this aggressively, let me know. If you feel she's resigned to a bad fate, then keep her comfortable.

my mumsie too has stage 4 lung cancer. she got radiation earlier this year when they thought it was just a few cells in her abdomen.
they were wrong.
the radiation made her terribly enervated. she just slept, often 20 hours per day. all you can do is to make sure she doesn't have any pressures (i scrubbed toilets ferociously!) and have her eat when she can, which may not be often.
mumsie has chosen to try an alternative treatment for the stage IV. it doesn't appear to be working, although it gave her hope and positive energy, and the first 4 of the 4-6 months they gave her were good. she's sinking fast now.
i hope and pray your MIL has a better outcome. just be prepared to support and honor whatever choices she makes along the way, and help all you can.
it's very hard.
khairete
S.

Yes, this last year my business partner, one of my very best friends went through this. She had lung, and a rare internal skin cancer. It then spread to her brain. It was such a roller coaster.

We told her she was in the drivers seat and we would follow her plan.

Just encourage MIL and honor her choices.. Keep your own needs to yourself and let her make all of the choices.

Lung cancer stage 4.. This is one of the most aggressive cancers out there. Stay informed. Stay as calm as possible and let her know you love her.

I am sending all of you strength. and peace.

I finished my radiation treatment in May of this year. I was very lucky because my cancer was Stage 0 (DCIS) and I didn't need chemo before the radiation. So I can't even begin to compare my experience with what your MIL must be going through.

From a physical perspective, she will probably start getting minor burns after about 3 weeks which will get worse as the treatment goes on. My doctor had given me some topical creams and ointments to apply three times a day to counteract/prevent excessive burning. I ALSO took a supplement called AHCC and went to acupuncture to help with the side effects of nausea and fatigue.

I had read a book on Chinese medicine and breast cancer and the author said to visualize a cool, calm moonlit lake during the treatment. He'd asked a patient what she was going to imagine during treatment and she'd said "I'll pretend I'm on a beach and the sun is shining down on me." He said "No, no, don't think about that, you'll burn. Think about cooling thoughts." So *I* also did that. As they got me into place and the machine turned on, I'd imagine myself diving into a cool lake under the moon. I'd swim to the other side and notice the cool breeze. Then I'd swim back. By then, the treatment was done (really, it only takes a couple of minutes). The combination of all this (medical creams and holistic approach) REALLY worked for me. I barely burned and my doc kept saying "wow, you're looking great!", I swam and played tennis throughout the 7 week treatment and generally came out of it feeling just fine.

From a mental perspective, it can get tedious. You're driving to the same place everyday, going through the motions everyday. I'm a SAHM, so I changed my attitude and said "THIS is my job right now. I need to get up, get dressed in a cute outfit, get some makeup on and go hang out with the nurses for a bit." I began to look forward to my daily outing. And, seriously, those 7 weeks just FLEW by.

Attitude is everything. Stay positive, encourage your MIL to stay positive. She'll get through it, especially with such supportive family members. Hang in there and stay strong for her.

Lots of positive vibes and prayers to you and your family. My MIL is about to begin treatment for stage 3 ovarian cancer. I'm in the same boat as you - no idea what to expect. One day at a time right?

Oh dear, a very difficult time. Sending you all strength, peace, and prayers. Wish I could come sit with you through it all.

:(