Meet Buster: My Big, Fat Tumor

I am zonked. I have been staring at this blog screen for two hours, falling asleep in a sitting position as nurses and patient techs buzz around me, preparing me for another blood transfusion. (Ah, there it goes– blood delivery on its way).

I have simply been trying to write an update about my new radiation treatment. It began this morning. I was taken downstairs in a wheelchair and carted just a few blocks down the street to Associate in Radiation Oncology. Dr. Miller met with me again yesterday to say Yes, the decision to radiate had been made. My MRI scan showed that the tumor saddling my spine at T11 (Thoracic spinal nerve 11) had changed a bit and was now actually sitting on the nerve. No bueno.

The plan was now this: 8 radiation treatments, all of T11 would occur, each day except weekends. Dr. Miller said that chemotherapy could still run concurrently, but he recommended one of these drugs not be administered since it could counteract the effect.

WAIT. STOP THE MILL. It is Tuesday evening and there’s a new plan.

Dr. Kukunoor, my regular oncologist, came to my hospital room and told me we don’t even have to start chemotherapy yet. The fact that this round of treatment could be more painful and extreme than others was reason to think twice and take it slower. Why not just resume chemotherapy after radiation therapy ends?

I’m for it. Give me another week and a half to have better mental clarity. I’m fine not fast-tracking for the moment.

So, I began radiation therapy on Wednesday with this plan: 8 concurrent treatments  lasting just a few minutes each. The first session, today, took over an hour as they set up the alignment of my body and made markings, to make sure I am positioned exactly the same each blast. At tomorrow’s session they will tattoo the markings, I’m told, before my continued treatment, then I should be discharged from the hospital to complete the sessions on an outpatient basis. The last radiation session will be Friday, July 31st. I’ll then begin my second cycle of chemotherapy on Monday, August 3rd, inpatient here at John C. Lincoln.

Ready to start moving toward leaving!