I am facing 5 weeks of neutron beam radiation to rid me of a recurrence of a polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma. One of the tumors is very close to my carotid artery. The other is in my masseter muscle.

Has anyone undergone this type, or any type, of radiation. I would be happy to hear your story. Especially how you felt during the treatments. I will have to do this in Seattle. This is about 2500 miles from where I live in Georgia. So, I have to do it alone. Can I do it? Will I be so weak or sick that I will need support? What are the worst side effects?

Any advice will help.

Blaine

Hello Blaine

External beam radiation therapy is radiation delivered from a distant source, from outside the body and directed at the patient's cancer site. Systems which produce different types of radiation for external beam therapy include orthovoltage x-ray machines, Cobalt-60 machines, linear accelerators, proton beam machines, and neutron beam machines. External beam therapy is the radiation therapy treatment option used for most cancer patients. It is used to treat many types of tumors including cancers of the head and neck area.

You can find out more at our website section on Treatment. You will also find the patient experiences of their treatment helpful in understanding how it might be. There are some rough patches but you will pull through. We will be here to help.

It is a good idea to maintain a good standard of oral hygiene to avoid the complications of decayed teeth owing to a dry mouth if that occurs as a side-effect of your radiotherapy.

Lastly, you can read past discussion at previous posts on radiotherapy and see that you are not alone and that people vary in how they experience the treatment.

Best wishes
Vinod