FAQ

A physician’s referral is required for you to be seen by one of ALCC’s centers. Your primary care physician and/or surgeon will be responsible for providing us with any and all records pertaining to your current medical condition and previous medical care.

Based on the timing of when your appointment is scheduled, a new patient packet may be mailed to your home prior to your appointment. Please complete those forms prior to your arrival. Alternatively, you can download/print from the New Patient Forms on this website on the selected location page. Visit ALCC Locations to find your office location then download the new patient forms.

• Write down any questions or concerns that need to be addressed with your physician. Make sure to bring a pen and paper to take notes.
• Bring a list of all medications you currently take (including over-the-counter remedies, vitamins, and herbal supplements).
• Bring your insurance card.
• Bring a caregiver with you to all visits if you need assistance walking
• Bring a jacket.

Chemotherapy treatment varies in length and frequency and depends on the individual treatment plan prescribed by your doctor. Some last as long as three or four hours, while others may only take a half-hour. Your doctor can provide an estimate of the time involved during your first consultation.

External-beam radiation therapy delivers radiation from a machine outside the body. Each session is quick and painless, lasting about 15 minutes. Typically, patients have treatment sessions 5 times per week (Monday through Friday). This schedule continues for 3 to 9 weeks.

• Comfortable Clothing. Wear a short sleeve or V-neck shirt to make it easier for the treatment technician to put an IV in your arm or a port in your chest
• Comfy Socks
• Hat, Scarf, or Beanie
• Pillow or Blanket
• Fluids – Especially Water
• Snacks
• Skin Care
• Nausea Combatants

Chemotherapy is typically given in cycles, which is a treatment followed by a period of rest. A cycle can last one or more days, but is usually one, two, three or four weeks long. A course of chemotherapy is comprised of multiple cycles. Each course is different, but generally consists of four to six cycles.

The most common early side effects are fatigue (feeling tired) and skin changes. Other early side effects usually are related to the area being treated, such as hair loss and mouth problems when radiation treatment is given to this area.

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy particles or waves to destroy or damage cancer cells. Radiation therapy differs from chemotherapy — it is used to treat just the tumor, so it affects only the part of the body that has cancer.

Men with localised prostate cancer who are treated with external-beam radiation therapy have a cure rate of 95.5% for intermediate-risk prostate cancer and 91.3% for high-risk prostate cancer. The 5-year survival rate using this treatment is 98.8% overall.

The worst of this acute vomiting most often happens about 5 or 6 hours after chemo. Delayed nausea and vomiting starts more than 24 hours after chemo and up to 5 to 7 days after treatment. It’s more likely with certain types of chemo.

The actual chemotherapy process is usually painless. Some chemo drugs may cause a slight burning as they enter your vein, but this is usually minor and tends to ease as the infusion progresses. If during a session you feel any genuine pain or discomfort, let your chemo nurse know.

If you miss chemo treatments, the cancer cell killing does not happen. If treatments are missed, you may experience treatment side effects without as many cancer cell-killing effects. It is important to receive the prescribed dose of chemotherapy at the scheduled time.

Short-term side effects of radiation treatment:

• Pain and skin changes- During and just after treatment, your treated breast may be sore
• Fatigue-Fatigue is common during radiation therapy and may last for several weeks after treatment ends
• Breast and skin changes
• Lymphedema
• Nausea and hair loss
• Rib fracture
• Heart problems
• Lung problems