Questions to Ask Before Starting Radiation Therapy

What type of radiation offer? How many weeks? Cream for skin was given to me at the office. I recommend getting a office close to home unless you have someone to drive 5days for treatment. I decided not to wear bra and deodorant. Use Dove or plain soap. I also set alarm reminders for moisturizer skin every 3-4hrs. I have 2 sessions left. 6wks of radiation no bad but fatigue

Thank you, Tolelia!

If your cancer is on the left side, consider proton therapy, rather than traditional radiation. It is targeted to only affect the tumor cells, sparing healthy tissue. This is especially relevant to sparing the heart damaging photon rays.

Also, I tried practically every oncology cream there is, but they did very little to help with burning, itching or healing. Manukau honey worked for all 3. Manukau honey is the truth.

My MD prescribed a steroid cream and told me to use it after every treatment. I did get dermatitis but not until the last few days and it wasn’t terrible.

Vicki, thank you! Yes, I had a mastectomy on the left breast. Stage 2 with 4 masses. Then chemo. Now I am awaiting radiation. I didn’t realize there were 2 types of radiation. Did you have proton therapy? I was concerned about damage to my heart. Thank you for recommendation of Manukau honey. That is probably the only cream I have not heard of… thank you…

I’m considering proton therapy myself but there’s only one place in the Dallas area that offers it. I’m concerned with the fatigue after treatment. It would be a 1.5 hr drive home.

Dawna, I will have my first appointment with my radiation oncologist this Tuesday, so I will ask if they have proton therapy here. I hope they do as I too will have a 2-3 hour drive which means I may have to stay there during my radiation sessions. Good luck, hope it works out for both of us.🙏🏽

The Clinical Team from Outcomes4Me had some really great questions for my radiation and medical oncologist pre and post chemo and radiation. I would be happy to share those questions here if anyone is interested and perhaps could benefit from them… please let me know and I will post them here. 😊

I would ask about follow up surveillance.

Preparing thoughtful questions before transitioning from chemotherapy to radiation shows great advocacy for your care. Consider asking your chemo oncologist about any lingering side effects that might affect radiation timing, while your radiation oncologist can explain the treatment schedule, potential side effects, and skin care strategies. Many community members find it helpful to write questions down beforehand and bring a support person to appointments to help remember important details.