Radiotherapy Yes or no

My wife has just had an operation to remove cancer from her cheek and jaw, which was a total success. But she has now been told that she needs 6 weeks 5 times a week of radiotherapy? 
the possible side effects are dreadful and she has decided not to have it? Any thoughts 

  • Hi Bassbuddy

    A very warm welcome to our forum.

    I am so sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis and the difficult decision she is having to take. What stage was your wife's cancer and were clear margins achieved after her surgery?

    There are side-effects to all cancer treatments. In the care of radiotherapy these are nowhere near as bad as they used to be. Radiotherapy has become much more targeted on the cancerous cells now and is not as harmful to the normal cells. Not everyone gets side-effects and there is always the option to stop treatment if they do.

    It would be worth the two of you sitting down and drawing up a list of questions for her consultant. Ask some of the awkward questions such as, what are her chances of survival with/without radiotherapy. If it's likely to make a big difference, it would be worth having, but if not, she may have made the right decision.

    Please keep in touch and let us know if she changes her mind. We are always here for both of you.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Thank you Jolamine, we don’t know what stage the cancer was, only that it was caught early and had not spread. There all the area’s around the removed cancer and lymph nodes came back clear. We are seeing the consultant on Friday for a discussion? Gary

  • Sorry, yes alm the margins were clear and free from any cancer cells