Radiation
Therapy
&
Chemotherapy



Richie Johnson

Home  -  The Tumor  -  Treatment  -  Anaplastic Astrocytoma  -  Richie's Blog

RADIATION THERAPY

All cells, cancerous and healthy, grow and divide.  But cancer cells grow and divide more rapidly than many of the normal cells around them.  Radiation therapy uses special equipment to deliver high doses of radiation to cancerous tumors, killing or damaging them so they cannot grow, multiply or spread.  It works by breaking a strand of the DNA molecule inside the cancer cell, which prevents the cell's ability to grow and divide.  Although some normal cells may be affected by radiation, most recover fully from the effects of the treatment.  Unlike chemotherapy, which exposes the entire body to cancer-fighting chemicals, radiation therapy affects only the tumor and the surrounding area.

Radiation therapy is usually given in an outpatient setting.  Treatment typically last five days a week for five to eight weeks, depending on the size, location, and type of cancer being treated. In my case, I had radiation treatments 5 days a week for 7 weeks.

This is me on the radiation table.  A special mask was made to the form of my face so that my head could be locked down to the table during treatment.  They did not want my head to move at all so that the machine could place radiation in the only areas that need it.

A closer look at the special mask made to lock my head down to the table

The radiation machine can spin around my head while I am on the table and apply radiation at the angles needed.  Once I lay down on the table, it takes about 15 minutes for the whole procedure to be done.

When the radiation machine is underneath me and applying radiation through the back of my brain, I get a strobe light sensation inside my head.  The  Radiation Therapist says that it is an affect of the radiation going through my optical nerve.  All I know is that it doesn't hurt while it is happening, but I sure get a doozy of a headache afterward.  Thank Heaven for Oxycodone!

CHEMOTHERAPY

I am taking Temodar (temozolomide capsules) for chemotherapy.  I took them 7 days a week for 7 weeks while I was on radiation.  The doses increased to 400mg after radiation and then dropped down to 5 days a month with blood testing each month.  The chemotherapy meds are to be taken for 18 months. 

To read about Brain Tumors and chemo treatment with Temodar, click on this line.

 

MY MEDS:

Chemo:

Anti-Seizure:

Anti-Nausea:

Anti-Anxiety/Sedative:

Steroid (anti-inflammatory):

Pain

Pain:

Acid Indigestion/Reflux:

Temodar (temozolomide) (120mg/day through radiation)

Phenytoin Sodium 100mg Ext Capsules (3x day)

Prochlorperazine 10mg tablets (1x day or as needed for nausea)

Lorazepam 1mg tablets (1 hour before Temodar)

Dexamethazone 1mg tablets (1x day)

Oxycontin 40mg tablets (2 x day)

Oxycodone 5mg tablets (2 x day or as needed for pain)

Prevacid  30mg (1x day)

 

Back to Top