Radiation Done

I'm so glad my last radiation treatment was yesterday. It's been quite an experience with the problem of keeping awake during treatment and always being so very tired. Lately I've been having trouble swallowing and have nausea every day. My radiation doctor tells me that's because the lymph node they were treating was right in front of my esophagus so it was hit too. It made sense because I felt the pain in mid upper back. About 10% of the esophagus is burned but he assures me it'll heal. I also have some fluid in my right lung which is not a concern.

During my last Oncology appointment I asked my Oncologist to contact my second opinion doctor in Tucson who runs drug trials for lung cancer to see if she had a drug that would work for me. He asked me if I would prefer to work with an Oncologist in Scottsdale who runs drug trials. It would be difficult to drive to Tucson every week or whenever I needed to be seen so I chose the Scottsdale doctor.

Gary and I went to the appointment to meet the Scottsdale Oncologist and were not only impressed but excited and hopeful that he would find the right medication for me. In short he's having my biopsy tissue which was done 3 years ago examined for DNA to know which drug or combination of drugs would work the best.

Gary also found a site online where lung cancer survivors share information on their drugs: what worked what didn't and what they're on now that's working. All of the names of the new medications they talked about came up with our meeting in Scottsdale as well as others.

I'm off Tarceva which was attacking my eyes every night making it painful to touch them and in the morning I woke up with crust on my eyes. There were a lot of other side effects which I won't miss at all. Most of the survivors had been on Tarceva also and found that it stopped working.

My job now is to build my energy level back up so I can exercise and play golf. Hope to see you soon.

Radiation Number 8

I'm off to my 8th Radiation treatment this morning. Changing my appointment to early mornings helped although I do eat lots of dark chocolate on my ride in to the appointment. After this session I'll have one more and hopefully be done.

My Oncologist recommended an Oncologist in Scottsdale who runs cancer drug trials. The Tarceva is not working like it should and it does have some annoying side effects. I asked Gary to go with me because that's a great way to get all the information...4 ears are better than 2. I'll be seeing him today also.

I'm still suffering with the allergies. When does it stop?

Oops it's time to go.

A Problem Already?

There is a problem at radiation. Even though I can't make myself sleep at night it seems when I'm supposed to be still as a cadaver my eyes close and my muscles spasm which is a very bad thing. I pulled myself off my marks for the machine. It happened Friday and the machine had to be reset, my CT test was scrapped for a new one and I lengthened my stay in the now torture room for another hour. No one was happy with me that day especially the patients with appointments after me and probably the staff too.

All weekend I've been worried about my radiation room narcolepsy. My arms are above my head and I can't bring anything in the room to stay awake although what would work. Maybe if I had pajamas on because I'm wide awake in bed.

I was going to call this morning to see if I could change my appointment to the mornings but realized the people I need to make those arrangements with are not available by phone. I'll have to do it today when I go for my appointment (wince, wince). I'm not looking forward to that. I considered drinking a big cup of coffee but I gave up coffee a long time ago--so I could sleep!
I guess I'll be eating a big chunk of my 90% cocoa dark chocolate and probably my next post will be typed tonight when I can't get to sleep.

Another lesson learned although at this moment I can't think what that would be.

The Plan Changed

When I arrived at the radiation office I was told there was a change. Instead of getting treatments daily I'll be getting them every other day. It doesn't make much difference except instead of two weeks total it'll be three weeks out of the sun. There's a Monday holiday in there and I don't know if they'll be open or not. I suspect not.

Anyway I had my first treatment and will have another today so we're on our way. I'll see the radiation doctor after treatment today and we'll talk.

What's Next?

I saw the radiation doctor at the end of April and it was decided that I would get radiation for the cancerous lymph node. That meant that I had to go to the Scottsdale office to get a fitting for the new "pillow" that would allow me to lie in the exact same position in the Tomograph Machine and 3 new tattoos.

It was nearly two weeks before they called me with my Plan. I'll be having 9 treatments for 15 minutes each starting Monday. I choose afternoons this time just for a change. There are no treatments on Saturday and Sunday.

The treatments can cause a skin burn and they caution patients not to go in the sun while we're receiving them. So I've cancelled my golf dates.

I golfed Friday with 3 ladies who always bring me good luck and shot a 90. It's been over a year since I broke 100 so I'm on cloud nine about my golf. I'll be eager to get back to it once my treatments are over. Wish me luck.

Boring but true

I haven't been going to all my workout classes because of the COUGH. I know it seems like such a small thing when compared to the "C" word, but it is driving me crazy. My son tells me that if I closed up the house and stayed inside with the A/C on my cough wouldn't be as bad. I'm sure that's true since it's driven by allergies. But really stay in the house? I need to see my friends at golf and I'm willing to suffer the consequences but not without complaint.

Saturday I went to Julie's class and worked out without too much jumping and that went fine. I didn't go to Kickboxing because it is a harder workout. I'll try Buns & Abbs and maybe that will be fine too.

Don and I hosted a Wisconsin party the last Sunday in April and enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing old friends. Some of them will be leaving for the summer and a few of them will be staying through the heat. We had wonderful weather so we were able to be outside the entire afternoon. It was a perfect day.

We'll be starting our summer session of Ladies golf tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing if I have my swing or if I'll be looking for it on every hole. Wish me luck.

I know, I know

Everyone has been reminding me that I haven't posted on my blog since March. This is the reason why. In the beginning of March I thought I had an upper respiratory infection because I was sneezing, blowing my nose and had a cough that sounded like a seal and seemed to come up from my feet. It's still going on and it's more than 2 months. Lately I have been getting worried that maybe it's pneumonia or full blown cancer. I was more tired than usual and was perfectly happy to sit in my lazyboy after working out or playing golf. I was accomplishing nothing during that time. I think all the coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing was sapping all my energy. I tried to keep hydrating with Smart Water (it has electrolytes), but it didn't seem to help. Some friends told me it was allergies and others asked me if I had seen a doctor about that cough.

My PET Scan was due in April and I just had it on the 14th. In the October scan I had 3 lymph nodes that were lighting up on the PET Scan, but this time I have one. I honestly had a meltdown in the doctor's office and it was caused by a number of things the biggest one being THE COUGH! Second thing was I had an 11 o'clock appointment with the Oncologist for the results. Knowing I would be kept waiting for a long time, I decided to do my workout class and leave a half hour late for my appointment. While I was near their office I received a call asking me if I remembered I had an appointment. I told the lady I was on my way and would be there in a few minutes. It was 11:05 at that time and I arrived 10 minutes later. As soon as I arrived they put me in an examination room and kept me in there long enough so I had to use the rest room twice, so more than one hour. I was getting more upset by the minute. Why do I have to come in more than 2 hours before I see the doctor? It's getting to be like the airport.

At first I was upset that I had a suspicious lymph node. I feel that I've been doing all I can to get a better result. But basically I just ran out of good attitude. The doctor spent a great deal of time with me and I appreciate that.

By the time I got in my car and started home my head started to clear. Then I realized that this one lymph node is new and the three I had 6 months ago are gone. I must be doing something right. I'm still taking Tarceva and it's working. By the way all my organs are in good shape.

I'm so sorry that I had the meltdown. The Oncologist didn't deserve that. It was the cough that has been chipping away at my patience. I need to make amends with my doctor and also let him know that waiting in the examination room is no picnic. The room is cold and drab. Just leave me in the waiting room where there are people to watch and talk to. I could bring my Yoga mat and do something healthy.

My energy level hasn't returned because I'm still coughing and the only way that will stop my doctor tells me is to get in a boat and park it in the middle of the sea.

My apologies for not posting sooner. I hope you'll understand now that you know what was going on.