Filling in some blanks

I realized I haven’t really explained what radiation treatment is like, so I’ll spend a little time writing about that.  There are different kinds of radiation treatment.  What I’m doing right now is called external beam radiation.  While I lie still on the treatment table, with the mattress form holding me in place, a machine rotates around me several times, delivering the radiation to the mapped location of my tumor.  I feel absolutely nothing from the radiation beams.  It takes about seven minutes, less time than it takes for me to change into my gown and get positioned on the treatment table.  At this point, the most difficult thing about these treatments is driving from the suburbs into the city and home again.

There can be skin irritation at the site of treatment, and my radiation oncologist told me this is likely the only side effect I’ll feel.  Some people have fatigue from radiation, but mine is focused on a relatively small area, that I’m probably not going to feel much fatigue from the treatment.

What does fatigue me are the sleep problems I’ve developed.  Three o’clock am seems to be my witching hour.  I wake up, unable to go back to sleep, so I go downstairs and read a little or play a game or two on my computer.  Sometimes, I go back and read your comments to my blog entries, because they’re a source of comfort.  While my resolve remains strong, all the what-if’s seem to come to light at 3:00 am.

As I mentioned in the last entry, I’m going to be doing fifteen of these external beam radiation treatments instead of the originally planned ten, because once my radiation oncologist reviewed my old radiation treatment records, she determined that my current tumor is outside the treatment field from the previous radiation.  There are limits to how much radiation a person can have in their lifetime, and if I had had previous radiation to my current treatment area, I wouldn’t be able to have more than ten treatments.  So, being able to have fifteen treatments is a very good thing.

Another very good thing is that I am able to have the Syed procedure done.  I don’t have all the details on this yet, even after Googling everything I can find on the internet, but, basically, it is another kind of radiation delivery system, named after a Dr. Syed.  It requires that I be in the hospital for three days, over which time I’ll receive five treatments of high dose radiation delivered through needles directly to the tumor.  I have to be in the hospital for this, as the template and needles must be put into place while I’m under general anesthesia — and between treatments, I must lie flat on my back for three days (lifting my head no more than 20%, I’ve read) so that I don’t accidentally shift the needles from the treatment area.  I’m wondering if I’ll be able to use my iPad for blogging and general entertainment during this time.  I’d be lost without it.  I might have to set up a friends and family visitation schedule to keep me occupied.  ;-)  I’m tentatively scheduled to go in for this treatment October 22nd through 24th.

A not-so-good thing that I discovered after talking with my radiation oncologist on Thursday is that the tumor is bigger than originally thought.  Apparently, my gynecological oncologist took a biopsy from the tip of the iceberg.  Instead of being what we thought was a pea-sized tumor, it’s more the size of a prune.  It’s still localized and highly treatable.  I just can’t believe I didn’t realize it was there before the bleeding started.

That’s about all to report for now, except that my treatment time changed from 2:00 pm to 11:20 am, making for a much nicer commute into and out of the city.

Thanks again, for all the support.  It means the world to me.