Radiotherapy

Hi RoxyToby and welcome to the Community 

This issue comes up now and then and I have done a search of recent posts for you. Nothing seems to come of them, I'm afraid ,but hopefully somebody  who is well placed to comment might see your question.

The problem arises, as I suspect you've discovered, when we get to the stage of such reduced oral intake that we are given high carbohydrate meal replacement drinks.I had to have Fortisips from the middle of week 4 and was fed by pump slowly over night. Might that be the solution, rather than six bolus feeds? It's something, surely, that dieticians must encounter frequently. I'm sure your team would take extra care of you if you went ahead. 

I always find it amazing that people thrown into the morass that is cancer are expected to make such a monumental decision themselves. Maybe ask your consultant what he would recommend to his/her mother/father?

I hope somebody pops on with some advice and all the best

Hi RoxyToby. Welcome from me. All I can suggest is turn the question round to consultant. I did just that when deciding ti have my 3 rd chemo or not to have it. I asked oncologist what he would recommend if I was his wife. It’s so unfair in our position to be asked to make life changing decisions. If you went ahead and if need be  had a ng tube fitted part way through treatment ask a dietician at the hospital could you make and syringe your own thin type of smoothies using protein powders if you can tolerate those. Or do they have ready made foods suitable for diabetes? Of course there are some people who just about manage without any interventions using tubes admittedly nit many. I know what my personal choice would be but that’s me I would throw everything at the cancer. If the consultant isn’t happy with the margins he got? Sorry can’t be more helpful. 
Hazel x

Thanks

RoxyToby said:

. So consultant said he is leaving the option of radiotherapy to me to go for it or not.

I’ve had a really good think about this. There is a really good article in the BMJ about the way MDTs and Clinicians approach their patients in a paternalistic manner. They decide what’s clinically best and present that to their patient as a done deal.  It seems maybe that you have been involved more with your surgeon’s decision than most of us get the chance to. If you have enough information to weigh up the pros and cons there’s no reason why your decision would be better or worse than the MDT’s

Sorry to muddy the waters.