I Have Cancer
So I am half way through my "year of cancer". In November I was diagnosed, December - April I completed 16 rounds of chemo, in May I had my surgery. So far thing have been going better than doctors expected. One thing I have learned is that sometimes doctors will deliberately keep you in the dark about your condition so you don't lose hope. My surgeon refused to give me any statistics about whether I would have a recurrence.
Now I'm on the final lap- 35 treatments of radiation to prevent the cancer from coming back. I get to look forward to the fatigue and a massive burn across my chest. The doctors are trying to be careful to ensure the radiation doesn't hit my heart, lung or ribs.
I was supposed to begin radiation on Wednesday- the radiation oncologist did not like how I was lining up in the radiation beam and would not go forward with the treatment. I had to come in again the next day to be re-scanned, measured, etc to ensure the radiation would hit the right places. Apparently I was very swollen from surgery and it went down enough to alter my measurements for radiation. It will be another week or 2 until they have my radiation plan ready.
I'm scared about radiation- i read a New York Times article about how the medical radiation field has become so dependent on software and computers that they get lax checking the equipment or ensuring the dosage is correct for each patient. A few people have died from radiation poisoning due to the medical staffs' "human error".
One more month and a half and I can hopefully put all of this behind me. Be thankful for your health friends!
Now I'm on the final lap- 35 treatments of radiation to prevent the cancer from coming back. I get to look forward to the fatigue and a massive burn across my chest. The doctors are trying to be careful to ensure the radiation doesn't hit my heart, lung or ribs.
I was supposed to begin radiation on Wednesday- the radiation oncologist did not like how I was lining up in the radiation beam and would not go forward with the treatment. I had to come in again the next day to be re-scanned, measured, etc to ensure the radiation would hit the right places. Apparently I was very swollen from surgery and it went down enough to alter my measurements for radiation. It will be another week or 2 until they have my radiation plan ready.
I'm scared about radiation- i read a New York Times article about how the medical radiation field has become so dependent on software and computers that they get lax checking the equipment or ensuring the dosage is correct for each patient. A few people have died from radiation poisoning due to the medical staffs' "human error".
One more month and a half and I can hopefully put all of this behind me. Be thankful for your health friends!
