Hi slipslop You need to change radiation onco's! My mother-in-law's first medical oncologist (the general one) was like that, only giving her little bits of info and dismissing her new pain as 'old lady bones' (which turned out to be new mets). The mask he mumbled about is one they'll make for you - which keeps your head in the right place for each radiation zap. If you're claustrophobic, you might find it difficult to deal with. My m-i-l is, and the course of radiation to a neck met was done with tape holding her head in position each time as she couldn't deal with having a mask made. After seeing someone in the waiting room with their mask (each one is custom made), I can understand her reluctance. Onto radiation side effects, if the onco isn't forthcoming (the onco is supposed to give a list to you when you sign up your treatment plan), badger the reception staff or nurses for the list. Majority of people suffer the skin burning (like severe sun burning), which sorbolene cream greatly helps... but radiation to the head area brings with it possible mouth problems - burning inside the mouth and/or throat etc. Drinking a little bit of mylanta or gaviscon before eating helps a bit... everyone's different though. Biotene products sold at the chemist are great for helping with the dry mouth symptom. Maybe other folks who have had head radiation can post something on here. My m-i-l also had another dose of radiation to her shoulder and to the lung area, so her trachea and oesaghagus got badly burnt each time. The big thing about radiation is that the side effects won't happen straight away, they come on a few weeks after starting radiation. You'll be feeling fine then hit the deck like a sack of sh*t.... although a lot of people seem to sail thru radiation (hope this is you). When she had her first lot of radiation, she was the only one with the rare side effect, whereas the other patients either had no side effects or only had the skin burning to cope with. Take care Zoe
