My final treatment Today, Tuesday Feb 19 is my final treatment! I get to ring the bell after this. Last Friday I met with the radiation oncologist. I asked her about how we will screen going forward and how, God forbid, the cancer might show up in the future. She said that it rarely comes back in the area that was radiated. If it shows up it will likely show up somewhere else in the body. We screen for it using a PSA blood test, which is a good screening tool since anything greater than zero means that the cancer is back. How they would treat it would depend upon where it is and if they can determine where it is. Unfortunately, the prostate cancer can jump to pretty much anywhere else in the body. Hormone therapy would likely be a tool since it will impact the prostate cancer wherever it might be. But, hopefully, this is it and I won't need additional treatments.
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Down to the last three! Today I'm at number 32 of 34. So, after today there are only two more treatments. I have realized that this commuting into Boston has made me much less patient as a driver. Should you ever find me behind you, you will know it. I will be honking my horn if you don't move immediately after the light turns green! So, my last treatment on Tuesday will come none too soon! Luckily, this winter hasn't been too bad during these weeks of driving into Boston. Today we have a piano player again. It is nice to have that while we wait. Tomorrow I head directly to the airport from the hospital to travel with Emma to Washington, DC. It will be fun to spend the weekend with Emma - fun for me at least, maybe not so much for Emma ;-)! Oh yes, and happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I bought Emma some roses and a card, and I sent Joe a card. If you look carefully at this photo, you will see Emma hiding ...
February 5, 10 scans to go! We are in the final countdown! I haven't been updating because I have been busy with Joe being sick. Today was the Patriots Victory Parade. So, I left early expecting a lot of traffic. But, it wasn't bad. In fact, it was very good. I guess I came in after the big rush. All seems to be fine. I am looking forward to being done - just two weeks to go! Luckily, my side effects from the radiation treatments haven't been bad. I still occasionally get "hot flashes", but not as bad as a few weeks ago. Those are actually from the hormone therapy. We again have a piano player. It's a Tuesday thing. So, it's nice to have that while waiting for my turn to get zapped. One of my radiation techs was discussing nicknames a few weeks ago. He mentioned his, and I told him he needed a better one. So, now I call him Batman. I told him about mine ("Goretex") and how it came to b...
Number 18 - half time is over! Golfers would call this the “back nine”. I am not feeling the fatigue that I had yesterday. That was probably head congestion. But, I did have a hot flash on my way to work today. I was driving on the highway to U Mass Lowell with my window wide open although it was about 30 degrees outside! Altogether, I’m not doing too bad at this point. I am trying to take off some of the weight that I put on between the hormone treatment and the overeating of the holidays. My urinary stuff is ok. Joe and Emma are doing ok as well. Joe is nursing a hamstring strain and hopes to be back running in a few weeks. Emma is doing well. She is busy with her club volleyball. Guinness, I’m afraid has lost a lot of weight from his megaesophagus. We ordered a special feeding chair that we hope will help him.
Treatment #17 - the halfway point! Today is treatment number 17 and marks the halfway point for my radiation treatments. Today I have felt a bit fatigued, but I'm not sure if it is due to my head congestion or if it is attributable to the radiation. Fatigue is one of the symptoms of radiation treatment. Also, my neuropathy (from my spinal cord surgery in 2010) is acting up today with a lot more back pain than usual. So, overall, I am feeling a bit lousy today. My last treatment is scheduled for February 19. Assuming that there are no delays or missed appointments due to snow storms or illness, that will be the last day. I will be glad to have this daily trip into Boston over! Unfortunately, they are running about 15-20 minutes late today. Since I'm supposed to have a full bladder when they zap me, it is a bit of a hassle to sit with a full bladder waiting for them to come and get me. Usually, they are pretty prompt. But, so...
Scan 16, almost half way! I had scan number 16 of 34 today. So far I haven’t had any significant side effects from the radiation treatment. I met with my doctor and all seems good. Compared to what Maureen went through, this is nothing so far .. just an inconvenience. I taught my first class at U Mass Lowell and met with the course coordinator. The class seemed to go well, but this is just day 1. The course coordinator is a West Point graduate, and taught at West Point. She’s very helpful. My biggest chellenge for the moment is getting all of the course material loaded up on Blackboard, which is the software platform most schools use. Emma and I had a great weekend together in Hartford at the volleyball tournament. It’s a lot of fun traveling with her. I don’t know how much fun it is for her, though!
Number 15, 19 more after today! Today is really nice. They have a piano player in the radiation oncology waiting area who is playing a lot of James Taylor, Carol King, and other great tunes. So, it is a nice touch. I heard from two of my oldest friends today, Adam Perez and Bob Dickeson. They had some advice for me tomorrow on my first class of Thermodynamics at UMass Lowell. Some I took, other advice I didn't since I would likely get fired if I did it! Here at the hospital they have a bell here you get to ring after your last treatment. Somebody just rang their bell. Anyhow, that's it for now. More tomorrow after my first class.