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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Profile picture for sitarskidel @sitarskidel

Best of luck to you👍

I’m not a medical person. My family member has this, and the docs are blunt as they don’t want to give false hope and are always wrong anyway. Some people live 16, 28, 22 months. Everyone IS SO different - the prognosis is an estimate based on past experiences of others. He sounds like a very healthy guy - activity and no other major concerns like diabetes are much in his favor. I say shoot for the stars. Send you warm and healing thoughts 💪🏼

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The three key components are full resection, right chemo (methylation or not) and general immune system. The future of care will be tumor vaccines. Good work coming out of Israel (Dr. Charles Wiseman). The optune unit seems to delay recurring tumor. It is an expensive option but FDA approved so appealable with an academic neurooncologist.

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Profile picture for lisamorris4272 @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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Hi - how did he do with the radiation?

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My husband is 77 and has gone through the initial surgery, radiation and chemo. He had the pill version of the chemo and that made it easier and he tolerated it well. He also tolerated the radiation well. He bought quality of life for two years because of that and the cancer didn't return until recently. He had a resection surgery nearly 3 months ago and was doing okay for awhile but is slowly going downhill. He has opted this time to not take any more treatments. Life is special. If your friend's dad can get some more reasonably quality time, go for it. It's a rough road for everyone but treasure the good things.

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Profile picture for lshaltis1943 @lshaltis1943

My husband is 77 and has gone through the initial surgery, radiation and chemo. He had the pill version of the chemo and that made it easier and he tolerated it well. He also tolerated the radiation well. He bought quality of life for two years because of that and the cancer didn't return until recently. He had a resection surgery nearly 3 months ago and was doing okay for awhile but is slowly going downhill. He has opted this time to not take any more treatments. Life is special. If your friend's dad can get some more reasonably quality time, go for it. It's a rough road for everyone but treasure the good things.

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Update on my husband's glioblastoma. Since he no longer wants any treatment and is getting more symptoms (difficulty in finding words, confusion, forgetfulness and fatigue), we have opted to talk to Hope West, our local hospice provider. After an interview with a hospice nurse we were very impressed and he was very receptive to the care he will get to improve his quality of life. While my husband is still able to function on his own we will have a nurse check in with us once every two weeks. Once he starts to have difficulty walking, bathing, etc., they will come whenever necessary. They said that he can stay in our home and they will come to us. They also provide 24/7 help and when you call for that help a real nurse will answer. They will not treat the glioblastoma but will make every effort to ease his symptoms so that he can have a better quality of life. They will be monitoring his medications and bring them to us so we don't have to go through the doctors and pharmacy any more. He is now officially on Hospice. That doesn't necessarily mean the end is near but it does give us hope that his quality of life will improve. As a caregiver, I feel relief, knowing he will feel less fatigued and can still function and enjoy time with friends. My relief also is that I will be educated in the ways I can help him and can also get some "me" time to regroup. I highly recommend to anyone struggling with this horrible cancer that they consider getting Hospice or at least Palliative Care. It is covered 100% by Medicare. And remember, as a caregiver you must take care of yourself. That is as important as it is taking care of your loved one.

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Profile picture for nancyhafer @nancyhafer

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!

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I read that Harvard Stem Cell Institute is using reengineered stem cells to treat glioblastoma with good success. I think there are a number of other medical schools having clinical trials in this area.

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Profile picture for lshaltis1943 @lshaltis1943

Update on my husband's glioblastoma. Since he no longer wants any treatment and is getting more symptoms (difficulty in finding words, confusion, forgetfulness and fatigue), we have opted to talk to Hope West, our local hospice provider. After an interview with a hospice nurse we were very impressed and he was very receptive to the care he will get to improve his quality of life. While my husband is still able to function on his own we will have a nurse check in with us once every two weeks. Once he starts to have difficulty walking, bathing, etc., they will come whenever necessary. They said that he can stay in our home and they will come to us. They also provide 24/7 help and when you call for that help a real nurse will answer. They will not treat the glioblastoma but will make every effort to ease his symptoms so that he can have a better quality of life. They will be monitoring his medications and bring them to us so we don't have to go through the doctors and pharmacy any more. He is now officially on Hospice. That doesn't necessarily mean the end is near but it does give us hope that his quality of life will improve. As a caregiver, I feel relief, knowing he will feel less fatigued and can still function and enjoy time with friends. My relief also is that I will be educated in the ways I can help him and can also get some "me" time to regroup. I highly recommend to anyone struggling with this horrible cancer that they consider getting Hospice or at least Palliative Care. It is covered 100% by Medicare. And remember, as a caregiver you must take care of yourself. That is as important as it is taking care of your loved one.

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My wife has glioblastomia and just started hospice on Monday. She is much worst than your husband, and has maybe a week to the cross over. Here are some things that I have to deal Hospice doesnt cover.
1. You must have family there so the chores can be divided up.
2. You will need some my time, do not stay home 24/7, IE family needs.
3. If you work go into FMLA on and intermittent bases.
4. Its going to be hard to sleep, so get some medical help.
5. Go to church, even if you are not relgious, they will take you in and give you alot of spritial help.
6. The biggest thing is dont go it along.
Greg

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Fractionated radiation was easy for me, it only takes minutes, I had no side effects. Would undergo it again without a second thought. Technicians were great and my Jason mask will be great for Halloween.

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I found Tamar very tolerable. The local outpatient radiation center was 20 min away. I was out of house about an hour to get there treated and a stop for a double double.

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Hi just read your post about your friends post about her dad, my dad was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma and that was in 23/05/2025, when we were told that dad would have 4 weeks to 3months. My dad has left weakness in his arm and left leg, he is 83. My family and dad had decided not to go ahead with the radiation, so I am wondering as too how long will it be I just don’t want him to suffer as I really want him to be comfortable.
We are still waiting for the palliative care to get in touch with us, so far dad does not have any pain, he is just not able to get up to walk and do anything for him self he was living independantly and driving into our town. It’s been so quick from the first fall which he is so stowick. If anyone on this site and reads my post and they have the same diagnose and if they can give me any information I would be greatly appreciated.

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