Hooray! We are (just about) half way done with all this treatment mess! I have had three out of six chemo treatments, and 17 out of 35 radiation doses. (Are we having fun yet?) Well, the technicians at the radiation center call me "trouble" since I bug them about how many of them it seems to take to bolt me down to the table. It also amuses me that they say "Here we go" then they leave the room and close a foot thick door. Where is all the other we of us?
I am getting to the point where I know exactly what noises the machine is going to make (including a funny flutter on shot 4). Just for fun, I asked my radiation doctor to explain how the dose was being controlled, since I noticed a series of thin rectangular metal blades moving while the dose was being given. It turns out that these blades shape the radiation beam in a fairly tight pattern that allows the doctor to avoid glands or anything he wants to limit radiation hitting. The blades are set up before the shot begins, but can also be moved to redirect part of the dose to another area. It all seems pretty complicated, but the entire pattern they set up is derived from the PET scan images they take which tells them exactly where the bad stuff is. Pretty impressive technology us old baby-boomers have created for taking care of us in our old age!
Overall, the radiation treatments have been fairly uneventful. My mouth is getting sore in the area they are treating, and my tongue is getting sore as well, which makes eating hard. I have lost about 6 pounds so far, which is not all that bad considering.
On the chemo side, things are not going anywhere as well. The chemo gives you nausea, and the first batch of drugs they tried either did nothing, or make you not care a lick that you feel bad. That is kinda silly!. Anyway, the nausea combined with mouth pain makes eating about the last thing on your mind, which is a bad thing since I need something. Oh well, in the extreme case, that is what the feeding tube they put in is for. By the time I was about to get my third chemo dose, the doctor decided to switch medicines and that helped a lot. However, one of the new drugs he wanted me to take was a steroid (so much for my baseball career) that ended up keeping my eyes open for 72 hours straight. I called his nurse and we decided to kill that drug off so I can at least sleep. However, what I am left with seems to be losing effectiveness today, and I am having to go back to the "I don't care" drug for a while. Maybe we will get this all sorted out!
By the way, Cheryl and I went off to Fredricksburg, Texas last Sunday for a Peddlar's Fair and spend the day looking at a bunch of crafty things. It was a nice break from everything, but a bit tiring. Before we left town, I bought the cowboy hat I said I would use if I lost my hair - even though there is no sign of that yet. It is big, black, Stetson, and will fit right in at the Kenny Chesney concert in town next month. I may wear it to school as well - what the heck - this is Texas after all!
My inbox is getting huge with messages from you all. I also got a card signed by about 15 volunteers from church the other day which was nice as well. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If only we can get this nausea under control.
Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.
Roie
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