Saturday, January 22, 2011

First couple days of treatment

I had a meeting with Dr Diaz on Thursday. I asked about the 'dose' of radiation I am getting. I am getting 180 cGy per day. They also gave me some lotion for expected skin irritation, and reminded me that my hair is going to start falling out around the treatment area. They also provided some handouts about radiation therapy. I eluded to 'a point of no return' in a earlier post, and this feeling was reinforced by the handouts. They pointed out about 5 serious health related issues that need to be periodically checked for 'for the rest of your life'. It is slowly sinking in that I will never be completely free of this.All this doom and gloom is rarely in the forefront of my mind, but it seems to eat at you. I still have panic attacks even when I am not thinking about this.

Holly and I took the kids with us on Friday to the radiation treatment.  This was a mixed blessing. We saw Dr. Marsh walking out, and he stopped and talked with us for about 20 minutes. He told us all about his family and how is moving out to Arizona. He then reassured us (including the kids) that they are working very hard on my case and was optimistic that everything will be OK. Before all that happened, the kids saw all the signs and brochures with the 'c' word. They must have asked 10 times, 'Daddy, you don't have cancer, do you?'.

The only side effect from the Chemotherapy I have been having so far is dry mouth. I have been eating OK, and my stomach feels fine. Per the doctors advise, I take the anti-nausea 1 hr before bed, then the Chemo right before bed. This works nice. I am still trying to work out with the doctor what to do about my headaches. Other than that, if I get a nap in, I am feeling pretty good. Go Bears. 

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