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Radiation for 70 yr old (glioblastomas grade 4)?

Posted by antoines @antoines, Jan 20, 2024

Good afternoon,
A friend of mine learned that her dad was diagnosed with glioblastomas (grade 4.) He is 70 years old. He did the surgery and the surgeon asked the family whether to proceed with the chemo and radiation.
At this moment, he can barely walk.
The radiation will be around 8 weeks and we were wondering what would be the benefit of it. Reading articles, it seems that for his age, the gain would be marginal and if it is to gain 3 months more but 2 of them (at the start) are lost in daily radiation at the hospital, is it worth it?
Also, we were wondering as one of the potential benefit would be an health improvement (after some potential difficult moment during the chemo) but we could not find whether or not it would be the case?
Finally, is there any benefit in doing only chemo (which consist in daily pills but can be done at home hence less demanding)?
Did anyone had this dilemma and what was their choice/guidance? Any (recent) article/research paper?
For me it seems the most important question instead of increasing the life expectancy, is the state he will be in during/after the treatment.

Thanks for reading and any help would be more than welcome in this difficult moment

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nancyhafer | @nancyhafer | 1 day ago

Things are hopeful. In October 13 months after diagnosis the MRI showed no progression in the original resection but a new deep tumor had grown on the right side. He did 2 weeks of heavy radiation and then started Avastin through immunotherapy every2 weeks. Just had MRI and the new tumor shrunk and the resection area was stable still. So going to continue the course. Only side affect from immunotherapy is elevated blood pressure which we working on with more bp meds. He still goes to the gym…walks there😊 and looks healthy. He does feel like he is more easily distracted at times but he also is stressed with aging parent issues. He too is angry about no driving, but he is alive👍🏻 Thanks for asking!

REPLY
lisamorris4272 | @lisamorris4272 | 1 day ago
In reply to @nancyhafer "My partner Bill a 70 year old healthy man had a craniotomy October 3 to remove..." + (show)
@nancyhafer

My partner Bill a 70 year old healthy man had a craniotomy October 3 to remove the glioblastoma stage 4 tumor and it was a success. Had some vision loss as the tumor had wrapped around the vision area. He was great after surgery. Walking, taking and seeing. Cognitively he has experienced some challenges and was told not to drive as his peripheral vision is bad. His incision healed well so was able to start 15 treatments of radiation and oral chemotherapy. Took a month off from treatment in December. Then started oral chemotherapy in January 5 days per month and every month since. He tolerated it well so dosage was increased in April . He is still tolerating it well. MRI’s so far have shown no progression. We have our 3rd MRI since the craniotomy next week. We have been traveling and he visits his grandkids in Denver every 8 weeks. Best wishes for your dad’s surgery. Keep me posted how he does.

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Hi how are things with Bill
my dad is doing so well.
completed course of radioitherapy, and now on chemo 5 days once a month, lastest scan was clear, hes to complete 6 months of chemo which ends next month then re-scan with 3 months off treatment .. then review.
i honestly cant believe how well he is. only problem is hes not able to drive, which he is still angry about!
hope Bill is well.
x

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elisabeth007 | @elisabeth007 | May 26, 2024

how about asking the dr these question?

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ruthannray | @ruthannray | May 24, 2024
In reply to @lisamorris4272 "Hi so Dad had the craniotomy 2 weeks ago today, they managed to remove it all...." + (show)
@lisamorris4272

Hi so Dad had the craniotomy 2 weeks ago today, they managed to remove it all. you wouldn't know, hes marvellous, like nothings happened. this week we went to see consultant and told it was GMB Grade 4 so the worst kind of brain cancer.
he is very optimistic and wont let this get in his way of living.. he didn't want to know the prognosis..
he starts radiotherapy 5 days a week for 6 weeks, soon, we don't have a date set yet.
so far things are going well. so happy Dad is thriving and hasn't changed.

How is Bill doing ?

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My 86 year old husband has GMB 4. Inoperable but stereotactic biopsy done on 10/16/23. He had to wait 5 weeks for the surgical site to heal before beginning radiation. Longer than we expected, but began chemotherapy simultaneously. The initial treatments were very tough, but he is doing well now, 7 months down the road. Chemotherapy is to continue beyond the typical 6 cycles because his tumor continues to shrink. No known prognosis at this point, but it’s clear he’s doing better than expected. Praying that your father has a great response to treatment!

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lisamorris4272 | @lisamorris4272 | May 23, 2024
In reply to @nancyhafer "My partner Bill a 70 year old healthy man had a craniotomy October 3 to remove..." + (show)
@nancyhafer

My partner Bill a 70 year old healthy man had a craniotomy October 3 to remove the glioblastoma stage 4 tumor and it was a success. Had some vision loss as the tumor had wrapped around the vision area. He was great after surgery. Walking, taking and seeing. Cognitively he has experienced some challenges and was told not to drive as his peripheral vision is bad. His incision healed well so was able to start 15 treatments of radiation and oral chemotherapy. Took a month off from treatment in December. Then started oral chemotherapy in January 5 days per month and every month since. He tolerated it well so dosage was increased in April . He is still tolerating it well. MRI’s so far have shown no progression. We have our 3rd MRI since the craniotomy next week. We have been traveling and he visits his grandkids in Denver every 8 weeks. Best wishes for your dad’s surgery. Keep me posted how he does.

Jump to this post

Hi so Dad had the craniotomy 2 weeks ago today, they managed to remove it all. you wouldn't know, hes marvellous, like nothings happened. this week we went to see consultant and told it was GMB Grade 4 so the worst kind of brain cancer.
he is very optimistic and wont let this get in his way of living.. he didn't want to know the prognosis..
he starts radiotherapy 5 days a week for 6 weeks, soon, we don't have a date set yet.
so far things are going well. so happy Dad is thriving and hasn't changed.

How is Bill doing ?

REPLY
1 reply
thomhorowitz | @thomhorowitz | May 17, 2024

I find atarax helps. OTC antihistamines do not cut it. Topical lidocaine has been useful as well.

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nancyhafer | @nancyhafer | May 15, 2024

Hello…does anyone struggle with obsessive itching with a grade 4 glioblastoma?

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thomhorowitz | @thomhorowitz | May 14, 2024
In reply to @djw "I have not posted about my wife, Anne, age 72, for several months. Last June diagnosed..." + (show)
@djw

I have not posted about my wife, Anne, age 72, for several months. Last June diagnosed with Glio stage 4. Had surgery July 6, followed by 30 radiations and then 72 doses of chemo with the five on 23 days off routine. She was in excellent condition prior to diagnosis as she walked daily 4-5 miles. During treatment she lost 20 pounds she didn't need to lose because she lost her taste and smell. She is fortunate that she has minimal pain during the entire process. She only had one event of nausea from the chemo.

Last week she had her third consecutive MRI with no results of tumor progression. The oncologist has taken her off chemo and MRI's will now be at 3 month intervals. About two months ago she began recovering her taste and is now eating regularly and gaining back the weight she lost.

She has brain fog which is frustrating to her. Her gait has changed along with her balance being impaired, but she can still walk ok. I need to be holding her hand when we are walking outdoors so she doesn't trip. Her energy level is also impaired. In spite of a scaled back life style we can still enjoy being together and doing many of the routine things in life like going to church, the store, out to dinner with friends. We have no guarantee how long she will be stable. Nonetheless, we thank God for the time we have together now, and for the past 10 months. Neither of us regret the choice to go thru the treatment she did.
Dan

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I get MRI each 2 months. Just love feeling like I am in a torpedo tube hoping no one yells "Fire".

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thomhorowitz | @thomhorowitz | May 14, 2024

So much depends on where the tumor is. There are more forgiving areas and those with less elasticity, Ability of other parts of brain to fill in the void). I had a right temporal lobe removed with very little neurologic change. Back on TMZ a week a month and looking at optune unit. to suppress any bad cells left.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | May 13, 2024
In reply to @lisamorris4272 "This is what I am dreading for my dad too He’s having the op Thursday and..." + (show)
@lisamorris4272

This is what I am dreading for my dad too
He’s having the op Thursday and then for ) weeks radiotherapy 5 days a week … all so that he can live to be with us
The human will to live is so strong

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@lisamorris4272, how is your dad doing after surgery? How are YOU doing?

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