I’m almost done. So close. I have nine more radiation treatments to go and I’ll be really glad when I’m finished with it. The side effects are more severe than I anticipated in many ways. I’ve talked to several people having radiation on other body parts and it seems that the face/neck/head area is the most sensitive area. The radiation is very precisely focused so as to minimize damage to surrounding tissue. Unfortunately the technology isn’t yet available (at this hospital) to focus the beam in three dimensions so the damage to surrounding tissue is still an issue as the beam is essentially exposing a squarish area from the front and back of the body.
Treatments are completely customized for each patient and it took several ‘marking’ sessions to complete the alignment process. The first was just another CT scan so that they can determine the area they want to treat and the direction they want to treat it from. The second marking session wasn’t as easy as the first. They told me they were going to make a mask that they could put marks on to help align the beam. Nothing about that sounds bad. I can handle a mask, right? They had me lay down on a treatment table with a formed plastic piece holding my neck in position. Then they placed a hot, wet, plastic sheet (with small holes in it) over my face and pushed it down into position. Then THEY LOCKED IT TO THE TABLE. The panic didn’t really set in until the plastic began to cool, harden, and contract. Suddenly I’m attached to the table via my head. It’s so tight that I can see my heartbeat in my cheeks which are squeezed up around my eyes. I can’t move my head AT ALL. It took some serious breathing activities to make it through that. After the mask hardened they took some x-rays and made some marks on the mask. They also gave me my first tattoo! It’s a small dot on the center of my chest. It looks like a tiny black mole from more than a few inches away, but it’s still a tattoo!
Each treatment session consists of me laying on the table and getting locked down by my mask while the nurses use lasers to precisely align my body with the table and my head with the beam. After the nurses go out of the room the machine moves over my head and buzzes a few times. Then it spins around underneath me and does the same thing. The whole process only takes 10-15 minutes and is totally painless. The aftermath isn’t painless but it’s not immediate or acute, it just sneaks up on you slowly. I get treated from just above the bottom of my nose to the middle of my chest at an angle of 10deg from straight ahead. This is intended to miss my windpipe and spinal cord but may cause some damage to the top lobe of my right lung. I don’t think they actually missed the esophagus because I have a constant sore throat. The most obvious effect I’ve had is the ‘nuclear sunburn’ (my words, not based on actual science, it just sounds cool). This is what it currently looks like:
Notice the nice line from the bottom of my ear to my mouth.
The top is very well defined, but the bottom of the treatment area isn’t as obvious in this photo.
I don’t know the exact dose I’m receiving but the doctor described it at mid to high level dose. I would have liked a more specific answer. Anyway, I’m about done with it and the effects should wear off within a week or two after cessation of treatment. The chemo will affect me long after the radiation damage wears off.
hair musings part two: the return
My hair has begun to grow back! I’m disappointed to have to shave my face again but at least I can cut my hair with clippers instead of shaving it with a blade. It was very sparse at first so I haven’t let it grow very long before I buzz it, but it seems to be filling out more all the time. I even have a hairline now! Oddly, I continued to lose my hair long after chemo was over, and even more strangely the last of the hair loss had not stopped before some hairs started to grow back. My armpit hairs were the last to fall out except for some leg hairs that weren’t in ‘high wear’ areas. The first hairs to come back were my nose hairs and they’re back as strong as ever! I never completely lost my eyebrows or eyelashes but they got very sparce.
Click for a larger view, it's there I promise
All in all, things are better than they were a few weeks ago, so lets hope that things continue to look up.
John: You are so good to keep us up-to-date about your radiation treatment. “It’s almost over” is such good news. So your hair is growing back. That is definitely a good sign.
It sounded pretty scary about your first treatment of radiation. You hung in there and now you know what to expect each time. We are proud of you and know that you will be a much stronger person than you were before. Thank goodness, the technology is advanced so much that you can know the cancer is behind you.
Take care of yourself and don’t catch cold which is running rampant out here. Cy is just finishing a terrible cold. It is to be in the high 20′s tonight. We had 3-1/2 inches of snow on Dec. 17th.
Lots of love is headed your way……
Happy New Year John! Here’s wishing you a healing and healthy 2009. Getting through the radiation is a good start. I’ve been checking the blog every couple weeks, so I’m glad to hear you’re doing better. Keep hanging in there buddy…
Sorry about the unexpected extra “stuff”. Hoping you’d be done just with chemo, but if radiation helps to ensure a cancer free future, hey, DO ETT. But still sorry about the burns, sore mouth, and general “jeez WHAT NEXT” malaise.
I know alot of this seemed like senseless suffering to you, but the way I see it, someone in our little “clan” is sooooooooooo going to need your support on this very issue, SOMEDAY, and I know you’ll be there big time, ’cause, well just ’cause I know who you are.
Just sayin . . .
Love,
Momma