Just a few questions about wbr/pci. My mother is about to do her 6th cycle of chemo of ext. sclc. (etop/cis) and she has been doing very well with side effects. She has just finished 20 rounds of radiation to her back/bones/tumor and finished her 5th cycle of chemo. Her main tumor has shrink as has most of her other tumors (her adrenal only shrunk a little bit.) She will be getting her 2nd mri of the brain in a week. The dr. recommended wbr/pci. I have done much research on this and know that there are pros and cons. I know the one con is that she may experience early dementia, however, the pro is that it may prolong her time here with everyone. Can anyone give insight of wbr/pci (especially with ext. sclc)? I have heard that they do not worry about side effects with ext. sclc because they say the patients are not usually alive long enough to experience such side effects (years later). Is it worth my mother going through this radiation? She is beginning to cough up stuff at night again (although it is clear with no blood) but this worries me. It has only been 4 months since diagnosis and you would never know she has sclc expect for her hair loss. She has been the same person except for some fatigue. What is there to expect with WBR? Thanks for any honest advice, opinion, and information. Sending good thoughts and well wishes to all.

Hello Petunia,

I have been following your posts since you joined this site and I realise some of our thoughts are so similar.
As you will see from my signature, my father had not done wbr and his brain met showed up with an epileptic crisis. There are times when I have wondered what would have happened if he had done wbr. The radiation therapy he did after the episode with the crisis was ok. I mean he did not have severe side effects and it has been 1 year and 4 months that he feels good except a small noice he occasionally has in his ears. But he does not judge it as something so important.
I hope the best for your mother and you.

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Daughter of a 55 year old man dx with SCLC
7/10:dx LCSC limited. Tumor in right lung. Cannot be operated. Chemotherapy and radiation the only cure.
6 cicles of chemotherapy etoposide/cicplatin starting from 7/10
CT scan Chest showing constant shrinkage
8-9/10 :pleural infusion and pneumonia
Spent a long time at the hospital until he recovers and then chemotherapy again.
12/10: radiation to chest,Ct scans are encouraging
2/11 : epileptic crisis lead us to hospital again. Emergent radiotherapy to brain because CT scans showed small spots and swelling.Brain metastasis
8/11: Ct scan in brain showed shrinkage of the swelling and minimum spots. CT scan also showed small mass in adrenal. Doctor suggests pet scan and probably gamma knife.
9/11: Starting chemo with Hycamptin (Topotecan)
10/11: MRI in brain showed stable
2/12:surgery for removal of the left adrenal due to growth of the adrenal tumor. Everything went good!
4/12:started chemo with cav, due to new nodule in pancreas
5/12: scans showed minimal shrinkage. Stay on the same drugs and new scans at the end of treatments.
7/12:MRI in brain showed new small spots
8/12:radiotherapy (10 visits) in brain
9/12:ct-scans showed stable results! waiting for a brain MRI
1/13:ΜRI showed new spots in brain so the doctor proposed a g-knife surgery.
5/13:new activity in the brain so radiotherapy and chemo (CAV)-4 times every 3 weeks-was the better solution. Due to low blood counts, we stayed at the hospital almost a week, for him to become stronger. Ct scans and brain MRI had much better results
6/13: keep on with chemo, another remedy. His look is much better,although he has lost his hair.

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Thank you both very much. Your advice has been helpful. I am guessing then if her last round of chemo is in July then they may not want to start the wbr until December. My mother is worried about permanent hair loss from the radiation but I think that hair loss is better than brain mets. Do you feel like it was worth the side effects to get the pci? I wish you all the best. Good thoughts and vibes sent always.

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