Radiation Therapy Questions

1. Can the chemicals injected for a PET scan result in low white blood count readings?

   Highly unlikely. Here's why: Positron emission tomography, more commonly known as a PET scan, is a type of radiology that uses very small amounts of radioactive material, called radiotracer, to find certain kinds of abnormalities in the body...
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2. How can we motivate my father to recover from radiation treatment?

   Hello Steve, It is noble of you to want to continue life with your father, and I applaud you for seeking answers to such a challenging circumstance.
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3. Can chemotherapy and radiation cause a skin rash?

   Many chemotherapy medications can include side effects related to skin changes. It sounds like your husband’s physician is treating the rash, but as you described it is not working.
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4. Is it normal to be burned severely during chemo and radiation?

   This is a concern you need to discuss with your mother's doctor. Radiation burns do, regrettably, occur sometimes during radiation treatment for cancer. Sometimes doctors know in advance that this is likely, based on the location of the cancer and the type and dosage of radiation used, and plan ahead to treat the burns...
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5. How long after radiation do low white and red blood cell counts rise?

   Each of us is unique in responding to any type of medical treatment. Many factors could influence your ability to regain a normal white and red blood count. I would recommend an appointment with a physician who specialist within the practice of oncology, such as a medical oncologist, a hematologist and or a radiation specialist...
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6. What is biological treatment planning for radiation therapy?

   This is a brand-new area of radiation therapy that's still being researched but that holds a great deal of promise for colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and other cancers in which some parts of the tumor are growing much faster than others.
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7. Why does my mother need treatment planning for radiation therapy for lung cancer?

   Many radiation therapy centers now offer advanced technologies that use a variety of computer imaging techniques to image, or "map," the tumor before therapy begins. Scans such as MRIs and CTs capture images of the tumor so the radiation specialists can measure it in three dimensions and determine exactly...
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8. What is the protocol for chemotherapy for colon cancer?

   Colon cancer is typically treated first with surgical removal, then with chemotherapy if the doctor considers it necessary. (Almost 50 percent of all patients can be cured with resection alone.) The chance for a cure and the role of chemotherapy is determined by how far the tumor has invaded through the bowel wall and spread to the lymph nodes...
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9. Where can I get help paying for my husband's radiation treatments?

   To find out if there is help available for your husband’s radiation treatments, you should start with the facility where he is being treated. Ask if they have a financial hardship or charity care program. If there is a non-profit organization that specializes in Merkel cell skin cancer, contact themem...
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10. Is it safe for children to be around chemotherapy and radiation patients?

    This is a question of radiation and chemotherapy safety. Radiation only affects people exposed to the source of radiation. So when your father is treated with radiation, it affects him but he is NOT radioactive. Other people around him are safe, children included. The same is true with chemotherapy...
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11. How can I overcome my father's refusal to ask for help with his cancer care?

    Such secretiveness is not at all uncommon, and it's almost always a generational issue. Your father grew up in a very different era: 50 years ago, there was a great deal of fear and secrecy surrounding cancer, and people rarely talked about it.But they also didn't have much hope of a cure; a diagnosis of cancer usually meant a long, slow decline...
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12. What can we do for kidney pain during chemo and radiation?

    There can be various causes of the two symptoms you list and it is possible that the kidney pain and the difficulty urinating could be caused by the same drug or problem or they could be unrelated. It is hard to say because depending on what drugs (chemotherapy and others) your husband is taking and...
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13. What has caused the pain in my feet after cancer treatment?

    This type of severe pain is usually due to nerve damage. It can be caused either by radiation or some toxin in the blood like chemotherapy but it is unusual after radiation for prostate cancer.
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14. What will happen now that chemo has been stopped?

    Many factors can affect what will happen in the days to come. Many of these factors will affect both your mother's physical and emotional well being. It sounds like you are providing support to your mother as quickly as possible.
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15. What can I do to improve the condition of my veins?

    One of the side effects of chemotherapy is that is can be very difficult on the peripheral veins (those small veins found in your hands and arms). It can cause scarring, making the veins difficult to find, even for experienced phlebotomists...
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16. What happens if I stop taking Tamoxifen?

    You have submitted two excellent questions.
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17. My mom had an in-situ mass removed and we're reluctant for her to do radiation therapy. Thoughts?

    The most important point is to discuss these ideas with your mother to see what her priorities and goals of care are. For many people, the balance between quality of life with length of life is important to think about and discuss. As people age, their health and energy deteriorate slowly or quickly, depending on the person...
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18. What should we expect after dad's prostate surgery?

    His individual treatment plan will depend on what stage his prostate cancer is post surgery. Based on the staging, he will fall into one of the following treatment options and one of the choices could be watchful waiting.
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

19. How can I get my parent to eat without nagging?

    The short answer is that in this situation there's only so much you can do. As caregivers, we see food as love. And when the person we're caring for is losing weight, in our minds food becomes medicine, too. Of course you desperately want your father to eat, and you're spending lots of time trying to...
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20. How long do chemotherapy side effects last?

    First off, thank you for your well-written email. I can certainly hear your frustration.
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