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How do you counsel patients on TTFields if they have reservations about the aesthetics and inconvenience of the treatment?

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How do you counsel patients on TTFields if they have reservations about the aesthetics and inconvenience of the treatment?

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4 Answers
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Radiation Oncology · Florida International University
Answered on

Honesty is the best policy; we emphasize commitment and diligence. We describe the well-known skin side effects, and describe that they are very manageable. Often, patients report fatigue, but that is a very common and non-specific symptom in patients with GBM. We use visual props and models liberal...

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Radiation Oncology · Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Answered on

This is a frequently asked question about TTF and some patients do have concerns of wearing the device for over 18 hours a day. They are also counselled on shaving their heads and wearing a battery pack. All of these factors play a part in patient’s reservations. It’s important to let the patient kn...

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Radiation Oncology · Cancer Care Centers of Brevard
Answered on

I believe novocure is working on next generation versions of optune, making the battery packs smaller and the transducer pads closer to a normal skin tone, so hopefully this will be less of a problem going forward.

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Radiation Oncology · Duke University School of Medicine
Answered on

I always acknowledge their concerns as the concern about the impact of treatment is a major point of apprehension for patients. I often recommend patients initiate treatment and see how well they tolerate it as most patients find that after the first month, they become quite used to the treatment.

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