Last week was very similar to the one before, with the exception of having Wednesday off for Christmas. I did have a treatment on Christmas Eve. My radiation oncologist, Dr. Langer, was off last week, so I saw Dr. McMullen on Tuesday. I told him about the irritation at the radiation site. He checked me and wasn’t concerned with what he saw. I also told him about the bladder irritation and he prescribed a medication for that. The bladder irritation wasn’t as bad at that time as it had been the previous weekend. I delayed taking the medication until yesterday. The rash got worse during the week and I have alternated between hand lotion and petroleum jelly on the site, but neither seems to help. I will tell Dr. Langer when I see him this week.
Since I only had one day off from the radiation treatments, Mom came here for Christmas. It was good to visit with her – our first time together since Thanksgiving. She got to see that I really was doing as well as I had told her.
I expect this week to be more of the same with respect to the treatments. I will meet my new medical oncologist today and will probably see Dr. Langer on Tuesday. New Year’s Day provides another mid-week break from treatment, although at this point I would like to have that treatment and be one day closer to the end.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Treatments 14 - 18
This is starting to get boring – the blog, that is. The third full week of treatment was like the second. I feel about the same. Over this past weekend I noticed a little irritation at the site where the radiation is given. That’s normal. I alternated between lotion and petroleum jelly on the area. There is a medicated gel that can be prescribed. It also seems my bladder is irritated. This is common for organs near the radiation site. The sensation is similar to a bladder infection. I check my temperature daily, as directed by one of my doctors, and it has stayed between 98.0 and 99.0. I don’t think there is an infection since my temperature is normal and irritation of the bladder in particular is common during radiation for rectal tumors. I’ll let my radiation oncologist know about both issues during my next visit.
There was a bit a bad news during the week when I was told my medical oncologist, Dr. Clark, had broken her arm and would require surgery. Then I was told she had previously informed everyone she would be leaving. Work had already begun to assign her patients to other doctors, but her broken arm has accelerated the transition. Dr. Clark is my favorite doctor among those I have encountered this year. An appointment with her is much like a visit with a friend. She is genuinely interested in all aspects of my health and asks lots of questions. I will certainly miss her. A lot of the people I met with during the week knew her and had similar feelings.
There was a bit a bad news during the week when I was told my medical oncologist, Dr. Clark, had broken her arm and would require surgery. Then I was told she had previously informed everyone she would be leaving. Work had already begun to assign her patients to other doctors, but her broken arm has accelerated the transition. Dr. Clark is my favorite doctor among those I have encountered this year. An appointment with her is much like a visit with a friend. She is genuinely interested in all aspects of my health and asks lots of questions. I will certainly miss her. A lot of the people I met with during the week knew her and had similar feelings.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Treatments 9 - 13
The second full week was much like the first with respect to side effects. Over the weekend I felt as well as I did last weekend, if not a little better. I’m starting to get self-conscious because of the lack of problems.
I saw my medical oncologist, who I see once every two weeks, on Monday. She is happy with my current condition. One especially encouraging note is that she said patients who experience serious side effects during their treatment show initial signs by the point at which I was then. I realize that doesn’t mean I won’t have any problems, just that the probability of serious problems is small. I assume that as I progress further without problems, that probability decreases more. At least I have convinced myself of that.
On Wednesday I had my weekly appointment with my radiation oncologist. He also is happy with my condition. He has the results of my blood tests each week and informed me that my hemoglobin count rose again. It’s still short of the normal range, but is well above its level in July when my anemia was diagnosed. The radiation will cause it to decrease at some point. I hope it is no time soon.
It’s great to have nearly reached the halfway point of my treatment and feel this good. I don’t expect the second half to go this well, but I have hope that it will not be too difficult.
I saw my medical oncologist, who I see once every two weeks, on Monday. She is happy with my current condition. One especially encouraging note is that she said patients who experience serious side effects during their treatment show initial signs by the point at which I was then. I realize that doesn’t mean I won’t have any problems, just that the probability of serious problems is small. I assume that as I progress further without problems, that probability decreases more. At least I have convinced myself of that.
On Wednesday I had my weekly appointment with my radiation oncologist. He also is happy with my condition. He has the results of my blood tests each week and informed me that my hemoglobin count rose again. It’s still short of the normal range, but is well above its level in July when my anemia was diagnosed. The radiation will cause it to decrease at some point. I hope it is no time soon.
It’s great to have nearly reached the halfway point of my treatment and feel this good. I don’t expect the second half to go this well, but I have hope that it will not be too difficult.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Treatments 4 - 8
The first full week of treatment was incident-free. Wednesday night I felt sleepy earlier than usual and went to bed about thirty minutes early. I did the same on Thursday night. Late in the week I also experienced an increase in stomach gas, which probably is unrelated to either of the treatments. However, with the possibility of nausea, it made me feel a bit uneasy. I have since read that the mere anticipation of nausea and vomiting is a common problem during chemotherapy and can cause it.
The radiation treatments were a mixed bag. Monday I was greeted by a different team than usual. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but even after only two days with the other two technicians I had started to learn their routine. On Tuesday I was a few minutes early and had to wait about ten minutes after changing into a gown. I was finally greeted by yet a different pair of technicians. Unlike my previous visits, they had not set up the table in advance so I had to wait a couple more minutes after getting into the treatment room. That’s when I really missed my usual team.
On Wednesday the regular crew was back and I was happy to see them. Unfortunately, there were problems getting me positioned correctly on the table. About half the time after getting me positioned with the laser lines and then taking an image, someone will come back in the room and make a slight adjustment. Wednesday, someone came in twice to make adjustments. Then both techs came back in and said they couldn’t get it right and had me get up while they checked and repositioned the molds. We started over and it worked after that. They said sometimes something is off and the only way to remedy it is to start over. The sessions on Thursday and Friday went much better.
I am relieved to get through a full week with no significant problems. Having finished eight out of twenty-eight treatments means I am past the one-quarter mark. I know the last quarter will be harder than the first, but it’s that much in the rear-view mirror.
The radiation treatments were a mixed bag. Monday I was greeted by a different team than usual. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but even after only two days with the other two technicians I had started to learn their routine. On Tuesday I was a few minutes early and had to wait about ten minutes after changing into a gown. I was finally greeted by yet a different pair of technicians. Unlike my previous visits, they had not set up the table in advance so I had to wait a couple more minutes after getting into the treatment room. That’s when I really missed my usual team.
On Wednesday the regular crew was back and I was happy to see them. Unfortunately, there were problems getting me positioned correctly on the table. About half the time after getting me positioned with the laser lines and then taking an image, someone will come back in the room and make a slight adjustment. Wednesday, someone came in twice to make adjustments. Then both techs came back in and said they couldn’t get it right and had me get up while they checked and repositioned the molds. We started over and it worked after that. They said sometimes something is off and the only way to remedy it is to start over. The sessions on Thursday and Friday went much better.
I am relieved to get through a full week with no significant problems. Having finished eight out of twenty-eight treatments means I am past the one-quarter mark. I know the last quarter will be harder than the first, but it’s that much in the rear-view mirror.
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