What is the success rate of radiation of the brain?

Question

Does is work after the first treatment schedule or should I plan months and months of trying?

My mother was diagnosed with cancer a week ago and just started whole brain radiation for 10 days. She has multiple tumors so it's inoperable. The primary is believed to be the gall bladder and has also spread to lymph nodes. I know it doesn't sound good, but we have to start with the brain first and I'm just wondering how effective radiation may be.

Answer 1

Tell your mom she is in my prayers...
I don't know the success rate but I pray she has
success after the first treatment.

Answer 2

first I wish you the best of luck in your decision of treatment.

second I would like to share with you what my mother has been through in the last 15 years.

My mom was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor 15 years ago. Her doctors recommended radiation. She did what they said and all went well. They were able to shrink the tumor that was the size of a silver half dollar to about the size of a pea.

My mom had no problems for thirteen years. Now two years ago she has had a new growth off the stem of the last one and we have been told at this point she needed radiation again. She did that with chemo. She has now taken the max. of radiation one person can have. She has done chemo. for the last two years once a month. She has three doctors who watch all her blood test monthly. She has had pretty good luck with all of this.

When we first found out about the return of the tumor and that it was cancer we freaked out. The first doctor gave her 6 months to a year. Guess what she doesn't have that doctor any more. Her three doctors have told her if she does what she is told and follows a strict diet, along with plenty of rest. She could be with us for 10 years or more.

Answer 3

Whole brain radiation (as it sounds, they radiate the whole brain) does not seem as effective as stereotactic radiation (focused radiation beams like the gamma knife). The side effects of stereotactic radiation are milder. However, not everyone is eligible for sterotactic radiation.

I would think it would take some time before the doctors can evaluate the effectiveness of any treatment. So, I'm guessing you will have multiple treatments sessions prior to a MRI and consultation.

Answer 4

Dear CAgirl,
It depends what you want to radiate in the brain. High grade =malignant gliomas -you basically never cure them but can get years, depending on multitude of factors. Meningiomas are radiated only if they cannot be operated, they stop growing, don't shrink. Lymphomas of the brain disappear in a wink but usually always return .Metastases -can diasappear and stay so or then not.
So, your question is too vague to have any reasonable answer as you don't state the type of tumor. location of tumor, condition of patient and recommended type of radiation as there are multiple of all of these.

Answer 5

I wish I could talk to you on the phone. I have been through six brain surgeries. I was told the the locations of the tumors that if I went with radiation that there was a good chance that they would kill more than they wanted too.I am not sure how successful it is.

Answer 6

Hi. Radiation is good to shrink the tumors, not kill them completely. It is also effective to control pain. It is not a cure.

Five hundred years ago, people said the world was flat. Today, people say that if the FDA and AMA haven't blessed something, it can't be real good. Well, here's something I know to be real AND good. It's a little different take on cancer treatment--

In 1990, I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 3-B, but I've survived. My doctors were great people, but they were limited to surgery, chemo and radiation by profitable AMA treatment policy. During the year in treatment, I started learning about alternative medicine. I'm a retired engineer, and this is what I've pieced together--our IMMUNE SYSTEMS become weakened by poor nutrition, lack of exercise and reduced oxygen. Once that happens, our body becomes vulnerable to common STRESSORS. Stressors can be environmental, like viruses, heavy metals, pesticides, food additives, electromagnetic waves or pollution. They can be internal things like emotional or job stress, or poisonous people in our lives. Aging is also a contributing factor. So this means:

WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM + STRESSORS = DISEASE (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc.)

Our bodies have 60 trillion--yes, trillion--cells, and there are always some mutating into cancer cells, but a healthy immune system kills them before they have a chance to get a foothold in the body.

It takes a LONG time, usually, or a high level of stressors, to weaken the immune system to the point where it won't do its job, but once cancer has formed, it will generally spread rapidly.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! There are ways to BEAT cancer that are currently being used in Europe and around the world, and there are some great books on the subject. I know because I've read about 50 of them from cover to cover. Here's a list of the best ones. Some are out of print and getting hard to find--

"The Cure for All Cancers", ISBN 0963632825
"The Cure for All Advanced Cancers", ISBN 1890035165
"A Cancer Therapy", ISBN 0882681052
"Oxygen Therapies", ISBN 0962052701
"Hydrogen Peroxide--Medical Miracle", ISBN 1885236077
"The Natural Cure for Cancer--Germanium", ISBN 0533071410
"Killing Cancer", ISBN 0705000966
"Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About", ISBN 0975599518

I know of people whose cancer has 'spontaneously remitted' (WENT AWAY for no known reason) AFTER they went on programs of herbs and nutrition to restart their immune systems.

You and your family must look out for yourselves to stand a chance of being healthy. This is not a joke, and I'm not selling anything--just trying to help.
I am using the things I learned in those books right now to fight off a second infestation of cancer. I've been at it for over a year now, and think I'm going to make it. Use what works for you, and pass on your success. Best of luck.

AMA AND FDA--
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the pharmaceutical companies control medical law and the FDA in this country with heavy lobbying and a revolving door policy. WHY would they want to do this? It's about the money. In 2006, medicine (doctors, hospitals, researchers and pharmaceutical firms) received 2.1 TRILLION dollars--15% of the total earnings (GNP 13.7 trillion) in the U.S. This is astounding! It means MILLIONS of people worked the whole year just to pay the nation's medical expenses!! That's totally astounding, and just too big to care about individuals.
http://www.altcancer.com/vidgal.htm#hoxsey

Answer 7

My husband had 60 raidiation treatments to the brain. The cancer stayed away 3 years before returning to the brain and body. He passed away recently.