Scan every day?

Hi,

My husband is on his final 7 week radiotherapy sessions for base of tongue and tonsil cancer.My question is,:  is it normal to have a scan prior to his Radiotherapy everyday? 

He has also been in morphine, pregablin for the past week, and as of this morning, he is now has the addition of fantanyl patch...we are just worried about addiction...will he get addicted? 

Thank you

Xxx

  • Hello Worrywortme1 and thank you for posting

    I am sorry to hear your husband is currently undergoing treatment and has been experiencing some pain.

    Depending on the type of radiotherapy being used they may scans or x-rays during radiotherapy sessions to make sure the treatment area being targeted is as it should be.

    Many people worry about pain medications and their loved ones becoming addicted but this rarely happens when prescribed properly for cancer patients. This is because doctors will start a patient on very low doses and gradually increase to give the most therapeutic amount to manage the pain, not to give a psychological high which is when addiction may occur. There is more information about this on our website here.

    I hope this helps. Please feel free to get back to us if you need to.  You are also welcome to call the nurses on the helpline if you prefer, we're here weekdays 9-5 on  0808 800 4040.

    Take care

    Naomi