First, I'm very happy that my ulcer pain this time only lasted two days.
This morning, I visited the infusion center for 2 hours for my infusion of carboplatin, the first weekly round of seven total rounds that I will be receiving each Friday. The carboplatin is easier on the body than the cisplatin that I received in the previous three rounds of chemo. The dosage is also lower so I'll have to visit the infusion center each week, and I'll only receive one chemo drug as opposed to three chemo drugs each round.
This afternoon, we stopped by the hospital for what I thought was my first IMRT radiation treatment. Instead, the technicians only took a few more x-rays to confirm that the simulation scans align with the new x-rays once I'm strapped into the mask which they made last week. The mask setup is definitely tighter than I thought it would be now that the mask is dry and hard.
Since the hospital is closed on Christmas, radiation will start on Sunday. Prior to each treatment each day, I am required to arrive 45 minutes early to get my amifostine shots. The amifostine drug will hopefully reduce xerostomia, which is a very nasty side effect of radiation to the head and neck.
Happy holidays.
Note to self: Remove wallet (credit cards) from pocket before entering MRI machine!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Heads or tails
Am I glad this week is finally over. While I struggled with eating during the second round of chemo, the third round brought dry sinuses, lots of nose bleeds, and a few sleepless nights during which I attempted to sleep while in the sitting position.
Yesterday, my radiation oncologist looked at my nasopharynx using the endoscope. He said, compared the first time he looked at me, my nasopharynx has "flattened out and things look normal." Awesome!
After my doctor's appointment, the technician made my radiation mask, which I will wear each day during radiation, and CT images were taken, which is used to map the IMRT radiation treatments. I thought the mask would take longer than the five minutes required, which included taking the CT images, and the whole process was relatively painless even though I was strapped down during the process. Radiation treatments will start next Friday, will last eight weeks, and take approximately 15 - 20 minutes each weekday.
The mask turned out to be much larger than I thought it would be and looks similar to the picture below. They placed the tattoos on my mask instead of my neck, which happens for some patients. Wearing this thing, I feel like a mummy.
Yesterday, my radiation oncologist looked at my nasopharynx using the endoscope. He said, compared the first time he looked at me, my nasopharynx has "flattened out and things look normal." Awesome!
After my doctor's appointment, the technician made my radiation mask, which I will wear each day during radiation, and CT images were taken, which is used to map the IMRT radiation treatments. I thought the mask would take longer than the five minutes required, which included taking the CT images, and the whole process was relatively painless even though I was strapped down during the process. Radiation treatments will start next Friday, will last eight weeks, and take approximately 15 - 20 minutes each weekday.
The mask turned out to be much larger than I thought it would be and looks similar to the picture below. They placed the tattoos on my mask instead of my neck, which happens for some patients. Wearing this thing, I feel like a mummy.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Round Three and Going Forward
Yesterday was the start of round three of chemo. Round three was delayed one week due to Thanksgiving holiday. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
So yesterday, I got a 3-hour infusion of Taxol, today a dosage of Cisplatin, and now I'm wearing the portable pump for the 5-FU, with the pump staying next to me for the next 5 days, the same as the first two rounds. I'm a bit excited since this will be the last time I'll have to wear the portable pump. I won't miss it one bit.
Going into IMRT radiation treatments (8 weeks, 39 sessions), which is tentatively scheduled to start on the week of Christmas, I'll only be getting one chemo drug, Carboplatin. Originally, I thought I would get only 3 rounds of Carboplatin spaced 3 weeks apart like the first 3 rounds of my induction chemo treatment, but instead, I'll be getting a lower dosage once a week. That means 8 weeks of radiation combined with 8 more rounds of chemo!
My oncologist wants to see how well my tumors have responded to the chemo so she scheduled a MRI for later this month. For IMRT, I'll go in next week to have a mask made for my head and neck, tattoos will be placed on my neck for aligning the lasers, and using all the data, the radiation oncologist and medical physicists will take one week to run simulations before I'll be the actual genuine pig.
I've read and heard the first two weeks of radiation may not be all that bad. But after that, things might be hell inside the throat especially. I found some inspiration from last week's Top Chef episode where the celeribity guest was diagnosed with tongue cancer. His treatment plan is very similar to mine. Check out this article (http://www.mensvogue.com/food/articles/2008/05/grantachatz?currentPage=1).
So yesterday, I got a 3-hour infusion of Taxol, today a dosage of Cisplatin, and now I'm wearing the portable pump for the 5-FU, with the pump staying next to me for the next 5 days, the same as the first two rounds. I'm a bit excited since this will be the last time I'll have to wear the portable pump. I won't miss it one bit.
Going into IMRT radiation treatments (8 weeks, 39 sessions), which is tentatively scheduled to start on the week of Christmas, I'll only be getting one chemo drug, Carboplatin. Originally, I thought I would get only 3 rounds of Carboplatin spaced 3 weeks apart like the first 3 rounds of my induction chemo treatment, but instead, I'll be getting a lower dosage once a week. That means 8 weeks of radiation combined with 8 more rounds of chemo!
My oncologist wants to see how well my tumors have responded to the chemo so she scheduled a MRI for later this month. For IMRT, I'll go in next week to have a mask made for my head and neck, tattoos will be placed on my neck for aligning the lasers, and using all the data, the radiation oncologist and medical physicists will take one week to run simulations before I'll be the actual genuine pig.
I've read and heard the first two weeks of radiation may not be all that bad. But after that, things might be hell inside the throat especially. I found some inspiration from last week's Top Chef episode where the celeribity guest was diagnosed with tongue cancer. His treatment plan is very similar to mine. Check out this article (http://www.mensvogue.com/food/articles/2008/05/grantachatz?currentPage=1).
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