Choices with SRT and travel

Radiation fatigue and urinary urgency could make four hours in a car a challenge, but not impossible. Not everyone gets the urgency problems or fatigue. Some do get bowel issues, but most do just fine.

Are you traveling alone or is your wife traveling with you? As a passenger in a car you'd be fine, being the sole driver might require a backup plan.

Fatigue can be managed by doing plenty of exercise during treatment (walking, hitting the gym). I wouldn't rule commuting out, but I'd have a backup plan in case things go bad and you can't drive near the end of the treatment. Perhaps you get a train part/all of the way or someone in your support group might be willing to help.

I'd think you wouldn't have any problems commuting the first few weeks, but you should have a contingency plan for the last two or three weeks.

Just a few thoughts.
Andrew

Personally, I don't see a difference between 3 or 4 hours as long has you have places to stop when needed.

I'd pick the facility you think will do the best for you. I don't know either of those places, but hopefully others will be along who know more about that.

Andrew

I'll tell you about my experience that I just completed. I live 4 1/2 hrs from the Mayo Clinic where I got 37 treatments for a total of 72gy. 36 or 37 are pretty common for mayo. I did a lot of walking each day sometimes 4 or more miles, some fat tire biking, worked out Planet Fitness, and did some swimming at the local YMCA in Rochester. With the holidays and missing 1 treatment with not making it back due to weather one time I was there for 8 weeks. I stayed at the American Cancer Hope Lodge which was fantastic a 1/4 mile walk to get treatment all of it in subway except for about 500 ft. I drove back on the weekends the 1st four weeks but I would pick up the kid and grandson in Minneapolis and he would drive the rest of the way I had to drive home the last two weeks by myself for appt and then pick up the wife so she could go back with me the last week for my bell ringing. All I can say is thank God for cell phones of course handsfree cause i would talk with family and friends all the way home and still stopped at wayside rest to grab a cat nap. A couple of the guys at hope lodge didn't exercise the one guy wasn't able to. At about week 5 all he did was treatment and come back and nap the rest of the time the guys that did some exercise seemed to do quite a bit better. I finished Feb. 7 and just now starting to get out of that Radiation tiredness I would best describe it like when you take cold medicine and wake up the next day just feeling like your in a fog and you have to continually push yourself to do something. Of course the lupron fog is still there and the hot flashes have gotten worse but we have gotten 17 inches of snow this week and suppose to get another 8 tonite so use the cold to my advantage! LOL. Wish you the best in your treatment.

Larry

Garyi I would agree with you that the last two weeks of treatment and then the 2 weeks following are the worst. I was just talking with a gal from hope lodge that left the next week after me she said all she has done these last two weeks was make some soup wash couple loads of clothes and walk about 4 miles and she only had 6 weeks. The managers at the hope lodge said that in their experience it seems like about week 4 to 5 people really start getting affected.

Larry

Progressing said...
....closest-to-home facility is 30 minutes but recently radiated a hole in a neighbor, causing sepsis and death, and my friend the funeral director says it’s not the only one he’s seen...

Oh good, something else out of control, that we can worry about.