Treatments 27 - 28 (The last two!)

Indianapolis received 11.4 inches of snow on Sunday, January 5th, and below-zero temperatures were forecasted for the following two days. I received a call Sunday afternoon informing me that the radiation oncology department would be closed on Monday. Work was also called off for Monday – a rarity for the State – so I was happy to not have to get out. However, that did mean a delay of my last treatment from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Even though the treatments have gone well and the people at the cancer center have been great, I was happy that Wednesday was my last treatment. I was congratulated by a number of people at the center, beginning with Sheila, one of the receptionists. After changing into a gown, I had to wait a few minutes for a radiation therapist to arrive. Brandon, one of the guys I see about twice a week, came in and said “There’s the graduate”. Afterwards I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Langer, my radiation oncologist. The nurse who checked my vital signs congratulated me as did Dr. Langer when he came into the room. I’m sure all those folks are genuinely happy to see a patient get through a treatment regime. It’s probably even better when they have a patient like me who has minimal complaints.

I was warned that the side effects I have already experienced will continue and could get worse over the next two or three weeks. In addition, new side effects could arise. That doesn’t worry me. The fatigue continued through the weekend much like it has been the past few weeks. The irritation on my backside was only marginally better at the middle of the week after using the prescription gel three or four times a day. Once the radiation was completed I could use anything on the area, so I switched to petroleum jelly. That began to provide a noticeable improvement after two days. It will probably take another week for the irritation to disappear.

Reaching this milestone provides a great sense of accomplishment, although I can’t take much credit for it. I was just along for the ride. The fact that it went so well gives me greater confidence moving forward.