You know, let's just step back for a minute....No one is saying that radiation therapy is perfect or even that it will necessarily end in disaster. I know whenever I have any type of medical procedure, particularly surgery, you sign a pound of paper acknowledging that there could be negative outcomes for one reason or another and releasing the provider from responsibility. This means YOU are responsible for deciding the risks you are willing to take. These things they mention may never happen. With radiation, the risk of possible future malignancy, or need for possible future surgery being more difficult is mentioned because it COULD happen. I believe age is a consideration for radiation; that is why many doctors encourage young, healthier people to have surgery. They are healthy enough to withstand the lengthy operation and deal with complications IF they occur, and in most cases, the tumor is removed. With radiation, the tumor is not removed, but its makup is changed so that it hopefully will not grow and could possibly shrink. All treatment options have one kind of risk or another, even W & W. My feeling is younger patients, should seek out the most qualified providers for both surgery and radiation...ask these questions right up front...take your time to weigh the answers, decide which risks you are willing to take and then proceed. AN Guy's choice was to W & W. For HIM, that was the right thing to do because HE decided the risks inherent in either surgery or radiation were not ones he was willing to take. The way it was explained to me, and from what I have read, while radiation is becoming more and more common, is improving by the day, and has shown remarkable results so far, not enough time has elapsed from its inception to let them see performance for more than 25 years or so. Does NOT mean it is not a valuable treatment, an effective treatment, or one that should not be considered for people of whatever age. (I chose to have it myself) People who are too sickly for surgery either because of age or illness...older people with small tumors, or people who just cannot stand the thought of brain surgery, would probably be the ones to whom this would be most attractive. Sometimes, a tumor is too large for radiation and is becoming a danger and the person is older. So many scenarios. See as many highly experienced AN doctors as you can, be candid about your fears and expectations, weigh what they say against your own gut feeling and do what YOU feel is right for YOU. Like Clarice said, not one of us asked for this diagnosis, but here we are. We cannot allow fear to paralyze us and prevent us from making a necessary decision, or we would never take our heads out from under the covers. It is a most difficult position to be in, but in most cases, we can move slowly enough to allow plenty of time to consider all options from all angles. For some, the choices are limited and in a way it makes is somewhat easier. All I can say is,there really is no RIGHT answer or one size fits all solution. Each of us is unique with what we bring into this condition...therefore our decisions will all have to be arrived at based on our own criteria for each individual situation. Wishing the best to all of us as we go through this journey.
NYL
