Meeting with Radiation Oncologist

I met with my Radiation Oncologist on Friday May 23, 2008 to go over the radiation game plan. This doctor was great; she was very thorough and took the time to answer all of my questions. We started out with staging of my cancer. They have classified it as a stage 2 A cancer. After talking about some of the symptoms I have had she said it may be a stage 2 B but it still does not change my treatment. They have decided to do only 3 ½ weeks of radiation which is great news seeing as I was mentally prepared to take on 6-8 weeks. Radiation will be given on a daily M-F basis and each appt. will be around 30 min.

On Friday May 30, 2008 I go in for what they call simulation. This is where they will make a custom mask for me and mark the area of radiation with permanent tattoo dots. Radiation is given only to specific areas of the body now so they need to make sure they radiate the exact same area each time I go in. The tattoos will make sure they do the same area each time and the mask will make sure I am in the exact same position each time. The mask is a plastic net that will go over my face and neck. Hopefully I can keep it afterwards and wear it for Halloween this year. The tattoos will be tiny dots outlining the area. The area will be down around my heart up the left side of my neck across to the right side of my neck and then back down to the heart area.
Since they will be radiating this area it will hit some organs such as the heart lungs and throat… and poses risk for second degree cancers, such as lung cancer. Naturally, they advise you never to smoke as you are at an increased risk, which is fine, as I have never smoked.

There are some side affects to the radiation but the good news is that the side effects usually take three weeks to start. So I may feel some of these side effects my last week or so but I will most likely be free of major side effects. The possible side effects are fatigue, red irritated skin in the radiated regions, mucositis, hair loss, esophagitis, and issues with the thyroid. The most common effect is with thyroid – causing it to not function properly -If I do end up having a thyroid problem due to the radiation then I’ll have to take a pill daily FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

I’m pretty excited to think I’ll be done with this in about 5 weeks. Trip to the bay in maybe 7 weeks and a trip to Hawaii or Florida soon after!!!
Oh and lastly and unfortunately my staph infection is back. So my doctor has me back on Zyvox which is the VERY expensive antibiotic. The total for 14 pills was $2300!!! For me, thanks to insurance I had to pay $50.