Whole brain radiation

Hi Yorkshiregirl

I was diagnosed with SCLC back in early August 2011.  My treatment was similar to you; the only differences being  my radiotherapy started on the first day of the 2nd cycle of chemo and was once a day for 33 days. I knew from the start that it was likely that I would be having the 10 day course of radiotherapy to the brain, as this is a standard part of the treatment plan for SCLC.

This radiotherapy is a much lower dose than you will be having to your lung. To be honest this was physically the easiest part of the treatment plan; so much so that I arranged to have it in the mornings so I could bob in on my way to to work.  During the treatment I had no side effects other than losing what hair had grown back from the chemo.

SCLC likes to travel and unfortunately the chemo is not good at getting through the brain lining.  So my view was that the low dose brain radiotherapy was simply the last piece of my treatment plan jigsaw, plus the risk of not having it was far greater than the risk of having it.  I do get more 'senior moments'; however 11 years on there is no way of knowing if these are down to radiotherapy or simply being 11 years older!  

I hope this helps a bit.

Kegsy x

Thank you for replying - you’ve put me in a quandary now, especially because you’re still alive and kicking 11 years later! You’ve given me new hope. Has the Sclc ever reappeared in that time?

Hi Yorkshiregirl

No, my SCLC has not reared it's ugly head since my treatment finished.  My last CT scan was in June this year, and still no sign of  SCLC.

Because I had the radiotherapy to the brain, a headache is simply just a headache and not a SCLC brain tumour..

Of course the decision as to whether or not to  go ahead with the radiotherapy is yours and yours alone.  I just hope that my outcomes will give you positive food for thought.

Kegsy x