Jim's Radiation Treatment Blog

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.

14 Radiation Treatments Completed!  40% through! Not only can I be happy to be 40% through my radiation treatments and over half way through my hormone therapy, the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl - the third time in a row! Anyhow, so far, so good on the treatments.  My PSA is still zero, which is key since it means that cancer is not detected.  I also haven't had any significant negative side effects from the radiation treatment.  As the weeks go on, they are more likely to crop up.  But, they do go away after the treatments.  My side effects from the hormone treatment have been hot flashes (more intense a few weeks ago and not so bad lately) and some weight gain.  With the holidays behind me, I can try to focus a bit more on managing my diet better and keeping up with my exercise - some weight lifting and 30+ minutes on my stationary rowing machine each day. Emma and I spent three days in Hartford for a volleyball tournament over the ...

Session 10 OK.  We are through with session 10.  I went into Boston yesterday (session 11 is this afternoon) and met with Dr. Lee (the oncologist in charge of my hormone therapy). I am halfway through the hormone treatments and I had my second Lupron shot today.  That will last me another 3 months.  My testosterone is still essentially zero, which is not good for a normal man, but is good for me.  That is the point of the hormone treatment.  Prostate cells like testosterone.  So, the goal is to deprive any remaining cancerous prostate cells of testosterone to keep them from growing and kill them with the radiation. Good news!  My testosterone is very low - near zero - and, most importantly, my PSA is still undetectable, which means that if there is any cancer it is not very active.

Session 9 - January 11 Well, I have learned that the radiation that they are using is photons.  So, if you remember those photon torpedoes from Star Trek, I am being shot with them.  There is some bad news, though.  There is no "pew - pew - pew" sound from the photon torpedoes.  The machine just makes a bit of a buzzing sound. But, so far there have not been any significant side effects from the treatment.  At some point I'll have some fatigue, some urinary effects and some pooping effects (which will actually be helpful for me, believe it or not). I am still having periodic hot flashes - suddenly starting to feel hot and sweaty.  But, except for gaining weight, which can partly be blamed by eating too much over the holidays, the side effects of the hormone treatments haven't been too bad. Some interesting news - I am going to be teaching Thermodynamics at U Mass Lowell this spring.  This spring I'll also be teaching the course that I ...

Tuesday, Jan 8 Well, I know that I've missed a few blogs.  I had to make an entry today because a lady here at the hospital told me that I was "very handsome".  Well, even though she is quite elderly and likely has poor eyesight, I'll take it! Last week Emma joined me for my radiation trip and for my follow up at Dana Farber.  They really love her there.  The doctors really enjoyed seeing her.  Of course, she is great company. Joe was down at Princeton this Sunday for an interview for a fellowship in Asia.  He won't know for sure about whether he gets it until March.  We will keep our fingers crossed.  Joe stayed with us Sunday night and is now back at Bowdoin for Track & Field.  He has his fist meet this coming weekend. Emma and I saw my sister Lorie, her husband Bob, their daughter Siobhan, her husband, Nick, and the star of the show, their 2 year old Jacob.  Jacob is walking and talking and he is incredibly cute! ...

Day 2, Dec 2 I'm afraid that today was fairly uneventful, which is good.  I've learned in life that boring can be very good.  I've had too much excitement these past few years!  Traffic was light going into Boston, but was picking up as I left.  The treatment was right on time at 2:15, getting me out at 2:30, just in time for the early part of the afternoon rush hour but before it becomes ugly. Tomorrow I will have Emma with me for company, which will be very nice. On Friday Joe will be leaving 😢.  He heads to NY to see some friends and has an interview at Princeton University on Sunday for a fellowship in Asia. I learned that I will have both MLK and President's Day off from my treatments (hooray!).  This is good because it means that I can travel with Emma to her volleyball matches in Hartford and in Washington, DC.