Yesterday I wore my head mask, was bolted onto the "slab" and rolled into the Tomotherapy machine. They were giving me such a large dose of radiation that the plan was to do it in 5 to 6 minute stages and they could confer with the Radiation Doctor, do a CT Scan after each treatment and align the machine with the tumor.
I couldn't move even when I was waiting for the next dose. The treatment lasted an hour. I had opportunities to have the head mask removed and take a break but felt it would be easier on me to just get it done.
As usual Nancy and Brad were very caring and considerate of my comfort during the test and told me everything before we started.
I met with Dr Smiley after the treatment and he said the tumor was inside the brain not on the outside and the size was 5 mm. With this tumor it would not have been possible to do surgery as it was too close to the motor strip, which controls my motor skills. If I should have another one in 6 months they will do the same treatment. If I have tumors in more than one area they will have to treat the entire brain.
As to side effects from the treatment, the only ones are headache and nausea and Dr Smiley wrote me a prescription for steroids to remedy that. The brain swelling could come any time within 18 months. And I thought waiting 9 months to have a baby was a long time.
This was another adventure in the Cancer Saga and even though I was apprehensive about the procedure, once I heard the entire plan it didn't seem as difficult as I feared. I had been dreading being in the machine for 45 minutes, but I misunderstood. They thought the procedure would take 45 minutes in all. I was glad they checked each CT Scan for the location of the tumor and making sure the Tomotherapy machine was aiming in the right place.
You've be in this for the long haul and I appreciate that I'm never alone to deal with these "frightful" procedures. Thanks for wearing your bracelets. Each time I see them they give me strength.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
To Bring You Up To Date
The recent PET scan shows that my lung cancer continues to improve and they believe the only spots showing up are scar tissue from the radiation treatments.
The brain MRI scan shows a 4mm nodule (very small) of cancerous activity in the left pyramidal lobe (left side of the head toward the top).
As you probably know, chemo is not effective on brain cancer, so they recommend Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Bascially, this is surgery by radiation, where a single, intense dose of radiation is administered directly to the tumor site in the hopes of killing it with one shot. It's a painless procedure but it requires me to wear a mesh mask and be in the tomotherapy machine for a 45 minute treatment. Side effects are headaches and nausea, both treatable with medication.
The good news is that this is a very small tumor, it was caught early, and that my lung cancer treatment is going so well, they can confidently go after the tumor in the brain.
These results were not completely unexpected. The development of brain cancer is very common to lung cancer patients because it's one of the few places in the body cancer cells can hide from chemo. So the docs will get to work treating this one and monitor me regularly to see if any others pop up.
The appointment is Tuesday morning, October 28th. I haven't been told if there is any down time with this, but I assume there may be. Watch the blog and I'll post as soon as I'm up and around.
This is just the next step but we're getting closer all the time - so stay positive! :-)
The brain MRI scan shows a 4mm nodule (very small) of cancerous activity in the left pyramidal lobe (left side of the head toward the top).
As you probably know, chemo is not effective on brain cancer, so they recommend Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Bascially, this is surgery by radiation, where a single, intense dose of radiation is administered directly to the tumor site in the hopes of killing it with one shot. It's a painless procedure but it requires me to wear a mesh mask and be in the tomotherapy machine for a 45 minute treatment. Side effects are headaches and nausea, both treatable with medication.
The good news is that this is a very small tumor, it was caught early, and that my lung cancer treatment is going so well, they can confidently go after the tumor in the brain.
These results were not completely unexpected. The development of brain cancer is very common to lung cancer patients because it's one of the few places in the body cancer cells can hide from chemo. So the docs will get to work treating this one and monitor me regularly to see if any others pop up.
The appointment is Tuesday morning, October 28th. I haven't been told if there is any down time with this, but I assume there may be. Watch the blog and I'll post as soon as I'm up and around.
This is just the next step but we're getting closer all the time - so stay positive! :-)
Welcome to the New Blog
Sorry for the inconvenience but due to technical issues beyond our control I had to get a new blog address. Please update your bookmark as I will be posting here from now on. We really tried our best to keep the old one going, but when they removed the photos we knew they meant business. It's Google's world we just live in it. :-)
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