Well it's 6 Chemo and 24 Radiation Treatments left after today.
Today was the long day as it involved radiation this morning which starts at 8:30 and takes about 30 minutes from start to finish with set up and treatment. Today they also took X-rays and did a CT scan (the same machine has attachments for both, so no need to move and get set up again.) Then there was the weekly visit with the Radiologist (Dr. Le) where all of my blood work looked good. There was a drop, as expected, in my red and white blood cell count but all within limits, so no issues there. I am starting to show the Erbitux rash, which is the main side effect that I was told to expect. I am showing the rash on my back, upper chest, top of the head (no hair to hide that :)) and the right side of my face. I am also showing some radiation 'burn' on two of the sites that they are radiating. See mask photo where the X marks the main treatment areas.
As part of this week's exam, I was scoped (see below). This is not as uncomfortable as it appears, or I have just had it done so many times before that I know what to expect and so it does not bother me anymore. The scope goes all the way down to my tongue. Dr. Le commented that, while they had trouble seeing the tumor before we started, it is very obvious to the eye now that radiation has started and on the CT she said she can see that the tumor has started to shrink already!
Since we finished the radiation and Dr. visit by 9:30 and my Chemo was not due to start until 11:00am, Stacey and I took off and went to breakfast at a place called the Creamery over in Stanford Shopping Center (about 10 minutes form the hospital). I surprised Stacey with this as a treat for her and we both enjoyed it tremendously. I might as well enjoy the food while I can still taste it.
We got back in time for me to go and sign in for treatment and Stacey went down for her chair massage. Chemo today was uneventful. It is amazing to me to see how many people Stanford treats in a day. The Infusion unit that I go to has 3 clinics and was running about 1/2 hour late because all of the stations were full. Once I got in the chair, they took my vital signs again, then hydrate with Saline solution drip and, once you are ready, the pharmacy mixes up your drug based on your weight and treatment protocol and then you are ready for the infusion. Funny how a two hour infusion can take 3-4 hours :) The infusion station is made up of the reclining chair, the infusion pump and a guest chair, Stacey got a special guest chair today and managed to get a massage chair today (not to be confused with a chair massage).
Due to the reaction I had last week to the Chemo (severe chills, headache and nausea), I am trying Tylenol and Benadryl this week to try and prevent these symptoms from coming back.
I will leave today with a thought for all, some of you who know me well will remember me saying this, it is something I try to live by; 'If you think you have it bad, take 5 minutes to look around you and I guarantee you will find someone worse off.' This mantra is something that allows me to go through life with a smile on my face and really mean it. I feel that if you take a look at the bigger picture you realize all that you can and should be thankful for.
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