Any tips on handling the radiotherapy greatly welcomed. A tip for anybody who has a CT scan or chemotherapy is don't lift anything
(including a handbag/kettle/iron) for at least 24 hours after the chemo/CT scan. I wasn't warned, came home from the hospital and did some ironing after a couple of days. The cannula had been on my right arm. The vein in the arm is now badly inflamed and I am having to put gel strips, which act like an ice pack on it and use Voltarol cream to try and reduce the inflammation.

I find it helps to take a small notebook into hospital and write down every doctor's name and what they tell you, because it's difficult to remember who told you what. I also find that breaking the treatment down into chunks and then marking each part as complete is helpful. Any suggestion?

-Make sure you ask you're doctors about using a topical emulsion cream. I was given Biafine. It is applied after I have my radiation 3 times a day on the effected areas of my neck. I am in the middle of my 3rd week of radiation and finished my 2nd treatment of chemotherapy yesterday. Hang in there and we willget through this!

-However over here (France) they don't give it through the arm as it is very dangerous and strong for the veins. Here they insert a sort of catheter in our chest which stays throughout treatment (and afterwards) and the chemo is given through this semi-permanent catheter thingy. Check out my blog entries for October 2005 and look at the one on October 10th, 2005 when they inserted the thing:

http://derekparis.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_archive.html

You'll find I was really very unhappy when they put it in and how they put it in. But I can assure you I was very pleased much later when it made treatment much easier.