Brain Radiotherapy for secondary mets

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Hi all, my mum was diagnosed with renal cell cancer in November 2021 and we then found out that it has metastasised to the lungs, liver, bones, brain, lymph nodes and some muscles. 

She has only had one lot of immunotherapy as after that her live function test was too high. And recently she has had some fits and has had some memory and word finding problems and weakness on her right side. She was being treated with steroids but the doctor has now suggested brain radiotherapy. Locally she can have whole brain radiation but she might be able to have focal treatment if they accept her referral in London. But she is now unsure after reading about side effects and how if could affect her quality of life. Has anyone had it and can share their experience?

Thanks so much

  • Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is an informative and supportive place to be.

    I don't have the experience you're looking for but noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. I've searched the group for previous posts which mention radiotherapy and found these for you to have a look through. I noticed that  is the most recent person to mention radiotherapy so I've 'tagged' them into my reply in the hope that they'll pop on to share their experiences with you.

    It would be great if you could pop something about your mum's diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

    x

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     "Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"

  • Hi, thanks so much for this and I the advice to update my profile. x

  • Hi swimmer,

    My husband recently had Stereotactic Radiotherapy with a Gamma Knife machine for the 18 lesions he has in his brain which originate from the lung cancer he has.  This is not general radiotherapy for the entire brain it focuses specifically on individual lesions and his session was 5 1/2 hours long, he had a terrible headache afterwards, was naturally very tired and had some speech issues the day after the treatment and some loss of vision in his left eye.  With a lot of rest and pain medication he was as fine as can be 2 days after treatment, his speech was back to normal and his vision had returned.  He hasn't had any lingering side effects from his radiotherapy treatment, hopefully the same can be said for the Immunotherapy he's currently on.

    I hope this helps you and I'm so sorry to hear about your mum, I wish you and her only the best!  Please reach out if you want to chat and I hope this information did help you in some way.

    Take care

    XXXX

  • Hi Silke,

    Thank you so much for your message. I will let my mum know and hopefully this will help with her decision. 
    Wishing you and your husband all the best too. I hope the immunotherapy goes well.  xx

  • You're very welcome, if she has any more questions please don't hesitate to ask and please wish her well from me.

    xxxx

    1. Thank you for this information - I had oesophageal cancer in 2020 - NED 2021 but brain biopsy April 2022 Brain Mets - although the symptons I have numbness and speech issues started Feb 2021 after the Pfizer vaccine in Jan 2021 - I am going to have this gamma knife treatment next week and your comments have lifted a weight off my mind - John