Has anybody declined radiotherapy?

Hi 

I know others will be able to answer your question better than me but I thought I’d just say hello.

My hubby’s situation is different as he didn’t have surgery so had 30 sessions of radio and 6 of chemo in order to get rid of the cancer (primary in his left tonsil and secondary in his neck attached to his parotid gland). 

I think you and your hubby have a tough decision to make and you need to speak with your consultant to find out why they are suggesting the additional treatment. 

Personally I would have anything they could throw at it, however the radio and chemo is a gruelling regime. But....my hubby has done it now so things can only get better!

i think a belt and braces is quite common. Indeed I’ve just had 15 sessions of radiotherapy following a mastectomy and this was described as belt and braces.

Good luck to you and your husband on whatever you decide.

Personally I put my trust completely in what my MDT advised so anything that they said was good idea I went along with; that said we're all different and the RT and chemo will be no picnic if you opt for it.

Certainly my wife, having experienced my journey, is totally insistent that if she's ever put in a similar situation will refuse any sort of treatment and let "nature" take its course. 

Nobody can tell you what's right for you, hard decision but I hope you get a good outcome whatever path you choose.

Hello Traceypr1, a lot depends on what the consultants feel about how confident they were in removing the tumour and surrounding area. When i had my FIRST head and neck cancer i was told i would be having 30 radiotherapies and 3 chemos which I did, I coped very well with it with no bad reactions.

       I never belonged to a forum like this and knew very little about mouth cancer, also i had no computer back in 2008 to look bits up. A year later it returned 2009 and again in 2010 so it did question if the radio and chemo actually did anything to help. The thing is once you have had radiotherapy in that area it's very seldom repeated in that area so my next two operations just relied on surgery , thankfully they managed to get it the third time around. So to sum it up its a gamble we take in having it or not having it done, you could leave it and see what happens and god forbid if it came back you still have this option. I hope this has been of some help, all the best to you and your husband, take care.  

                                                                                  Chris x

My thoughts would be if I hadn't gone along with my radio and chemo would of been have I still got cancer floating around in my body waiting to have another go, my radio and chemo was to my neck and from chin down to cover in case any cells had escaped, my main cancer was to the tpo of my mouth and the were happy with the margins around that so didn't do it with radio. The chemo was described as an extra as extra cover as the radio was the main thing, the chemo wasn't a problem but mine was weekly so six and 30 radio.