Handling Radiation to the Brain

I recently read about someone wanting to know how to handle radiation for their own brain tumor. I know that the medical world has changed dramatically in the years since I had my own radiation, but brains and bodies have not.

My radiation was 1,000 Rads per week for 5 weeks to the parietal lobe astrocytoma I had. This did not irradicate the tumor, it merely shrank it. Few people realize that radiation to the brain affects the entire body much like chemo can, unlike radition to other parts of the body. When the brain is being "assaulted", the entire body feels it.

I found that ginger tea helped the nausea. I ate small bland meals and I also found that drinking extra water, lightly flavored, (after radiation!) seemed to help with the overall "yuck" feeling. Alot of movement immediately after the treatment wasn't good so having to drive an hour and a half AFTER each treatment 5 days a week for 4 weeks was really difficult. The last week or so, I stayed at the hospital hotel to alleviate that problem. What a relief that was!

I highly recommend that if you don't live close to your treatment center, you might want to see if the sociologist on staff can help you find an inexpensive place to stay during treatment rather than driving back and forth.

There are so many resources right within your own treatment facility, don't be afraid to ask. At the Sarah Cannon Center in Nashville, there is even a library just for cancer patients and their families. The advisors and social workers there can help visitors find specific information online, give pamphlets and loan out books. They are also fantastic listeners.