brain mets and wbr

I had WBR about a year ago for 7 mets plus possible leptomeningeal disease. It's a little hard to pick out what side effects came from which therapy since I was also started on Yervoy at the same time, but the WBR really wasn't that bad, I didn't think. Once they got all the measurements and figured out the setup, it only took about 10-15 min per day for 3 weeks (some people only do 2 weeks). I scheduled my appointments for first thing in the morning and was still able to get to work across town (not a large city) by 8:45 or so. The treatments don't hurt, you just have to lie on a table for a few min. Most of the side effects are cumulative, so I didn't notice anything at all for 2 weeks. 

At the beginning of the third week all my hair fell out. It took 2-3 days for all of it to come out, but I had my head shaved down to 1/4 inch after it started beause I couldn't stand to have gobs of long hair falling everywhere (especially in the shower). Some people shave their heads before it starts so they dont' have to deal with it as much. It took a good 6 months before it really started growing again, but has come back really well. Late in the third week my ear canals really started to hurt- they got burned (like a sunburn) and it took close to a month before they really felt normal again. My radiation oncologist gave me some cream to use that helped a lot. It made sleeping dificult. Aside from that I did have some nausea during the third week of treatment that lasted for about a week or 2 after WBR ended, but as I said, I'm not sure if that was from the WBR or Yervoy. Since it didn't continue with additional Yervoy infusions I think it was likely due to the radiation, but I was prescribed an anti-emetic that worked well and I continued to work. Some fatigue hit after the third week, again some of that could have been attributed to Yervoy, I'm not sure. Since that didn't ease up until a few weeks after my last Yervoy infusion, I'm tempted to blame the drug, at least in part. Other than that, I really didn't notice anything for side effects. As far as the long term memory effects, etc that are a risk- my doctor put me on an alzheimer's medication for 6 months to help combat that. I didn't notice anything while I was on it. I came off in December and noticed a little downturn in my ability to choose words when I was tired. This has improved dramatically in the last couple of months.

For me, WBR was successful- no more leptomeningial anything (so far) and all of the 7 mets that were visible dissapeared (granted they were all around 5mm or less, so very small). None of them have returned. Unfortunately in January I had 4 completely new mets (2 of which were treated with Gamma Knife) and just yesterday I treated 9 additional, again completely new, mets. All of the new mets have been in locations other than the original 7 that were treated with WBR. So yes, WBR was a success, but I have had to stay very vigillant as my overall disease (body and brain) is not well controlled. 

Good Luck to you

I had WBR about a year ago for 7 mets plus possible leptomeningeal disease. It's a little hard to pick out what side effects came from which therapy since I was also started on Yervoy at the same time, but the WBR really wasn't that bad, I didn't think. Once they got all the measurements and figured out the setup, it only took about 10-15 min per day for 3 weeks (some people only do 2 weeks). I scheduled my appointments for first thing in the morning and was still able to get to work across town (not a large city) by 8:45 or so. The treatments don't hurt, you just have to lie on a table for a few min. Most of the side effects are cumulative, so I didn't notice anything at all for 2 weeks. 

At the beginning of the third week all my hair fell out. It took 2-3 days for all of it to come out, but I had my head shaved down to 1/4 inch after it started beause I couldn't stand to have gobs of long hair falling everywhere (especially in the shower). Some people shave their heads before it starts so they dont' have to deal with it as much. It took a good 6 months before it really started growing again, but has come back really well. Late in the third week my ear canals really started to hurt- they got burned (like a sunburn) and it took close to a month before they really felt normal again. My radiation oncologist gave me some cream to use that helped a lot. It made sleeping dificult. Aside from that I did have some nausea during the third week of treatment that lasted for about a week or 2 after WBR ended, but as I said, I'm not sure if that was from the WBR or Yervoy. Since it didn't continue with additional Yervoy infusions I think it was likely due to the radiation, but I was prescribed an anti-emetic that worked well and I continued to work. Some fatigue hit after the third week, again some of that could have been attributed to Yervoy, I'm not sure. Since that didn't ease up until a few weeks after my last Yervoy infusion, I'm tempted to blame the drug, at least in part. Other than that, I really didn't notice anything for side effects. As far as the long term memory effects, etc that are a risk- my doctor put me on an alzheimer's medication for 6 months to help combat that. I didn't notice anything while I was on it. I came off in December and noticed a little downturn in my ability to choose words when I was tired. This has improved dramatically in the last couple of months.

For me, WBR was successful- no more leptomeningial anything (so far) and all of the 7 mets that were visible dissapeared (granted they were all around 5mm or less, so very small). None of them have returned. Unfortunately in January I had 4 completely new mets (2 of which were treated with Gamma Knife) and just yesterday I treated 9 additional, again completely new, mets. All of the new mets have been in locations other than the original 7 that were treated with WBR. So yes, WBR was a success, but I have had to stay very vigillant as my overall disease (body and brain) is not well controlled. 

Good Luck to you

I had WBR about a year ago for 7 mets plus possible leptomeningeal disease. It's a little hard to pick out what side effects came from which therapy since I was also started on Yervoy at the same time, but the WBR really wasn't that bad, I didn't think. Once they got all the measurements and figured out the setup, it only took about 10-15 min per day for 3 weeks (some people only do 2 weeks). I scheduled my appointments for first thing in the morning and was still able to get to work across town (not a large city) by 8:45 or so. The treatments don't hurt, you just have to lie on a table for a few min. Most of the side effects are cumulative, so I didn't notice anything at all for 2 weeks. 

At the beginning of the third week all my hair fell out. It took 2-3 days for all of it to come out, but I had my head shaved down to 1/4 inch after it started beause I couldn't stand to have gobs of long hair falling everywhere (especially in the shower). Some people shave their heads before it starts so they dont' have to deal with it as much. It took a good 6 months before it really started growing again, but has come back really well. Late in the third week my ear canals really started to hurt- they got burned (like a sunburn) and it took close to a month before they really felt normal again. My radiation oncologist gave me some cream to use that helped a lot. It made sleeping dificult. Aside from that I did have some nausea during the third week of treatment that lasted for about a week or 2 after WBR ended, but as I said, I'm not sure if that was from the WBR or Yervoy. Since it didn't continue with additional Yervoy infusions I think it was likely due to the radiation, but I was prescribed an anti-emetic that worked well and I continued to work. Some fatigue hit after the third week, again some of that could have been attributed to Yervoy, I'm not sure. Since that didn't ease up until a few weeks after my last Yervoy infusion, I'm tempted to blame the drug, at least in part. Other than that, I really didn't notice anything for side effects. As far as the long term memory effects, etc that are a risk- my doctor put me on an alzheimer's medication for 6 months to help combat that. I didn't notice anything while I was on it. I came off in December and noticed a little downturn in my ability to choose words when I was tired. This has improved dramatically in the last couple of months.

For me, WBR was successful- no more leptomeningial anything (so far) and all of the 7 mets that were visible dissapeared (granted they were all around 5mm or less, so very small). None of them have returned. Unfortunately in January I had 4 completely new mets (2 of which were treated with Gamma Knife) and just yesterday I treated 9 additional, again completely new, mets. All of the new mets have been in locations other than the original 7 that were treated with WBR. So yes, WBR was a success, but I have had to stay very vigillant as my overall disease (body and brain) is not well controlled. 

Good Luck to you