Here we go again

Erbitux chemo infusion started yesterday. The first dose will be the strongest with the remainder infusions not as strong. I will receive weekly infusions for the next 11 weeks.

Hope is that the side effects are not as bad as the platinum drugs I received this time last year.

Erbitux

Chemo starts next week and will last for 12 weeks. Infusion once a week.

So not looking forward to it. But my long term survival could depend on me finishing this course of chemo.

Radiation treatment options

There is a lot of confusion, even among doctors about CyberKnife vs. Gamma Knife. Here is an article that explains the differences very well:

http://www.incapitalhealth.co.uk/2009/11/cyberknife-and-gamma-knife-radiosurgery-–-what-are-they-and-what-are-the-differences/

Neck dissection, post-op

Nine days post-op, I had half of the over 40 staples removed. At thirteen days post-op, I had the remaining staples removed. My neck is still very tight and will continue to be so for a few weeks as the scar tissue underneath the skin forms.

My doctor removed from my right neck 30 lymph nodes, a 7 cm section of my internal jugular vein, part of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, and some salivary gland tissue. The pathology reports shows cancer only in the one lymph node which tested positive in the PET scan three months ago.

I'll be returning to work next week.