First Day of the Rest of My Life...

The official day of treatment is today. Carol and I got to the Sparrow Cancer Center this morning around 8:15am. We were ushered back to 'Infusion Room 10' which is my own private 'cell' in this area. The IV was tethered to my body and the process was explained to us. I begin a 'pre-hydration' first. During this time I am giving steroids and a shot of Kytril (to help prevent Nausea). Then the Cisplatin. (My magic elixir.) This was completed at just about noon and then I started the 'post-hydration' - which will take about another hour. Then Carol and I are headed for lunch before returning to this area for a shot of Amifostine. I am using this drug to help eliminate the dryness in my mouth and retain my taste sensation that gets reduced or lost during the radiation process. Around the hospital everyone is excited to see how I will react to this treatment as this is the first time that it has been used at this facility for this application. I'm hoping also that this works.

It's hard to describe my emotions that I have been having in anticipation of my treatment. It's been a good thing that the past three weeks have been an especially busy time - what with all of the medical tests and preparation and all of the last minute 'getting in the summer' things. Fortunately by being so busy I have avoided the desperation time of thinking about what is really happening to me and how it effects my body and quality of life but additionally what my immediate future will be like during the next 2-3 months and the true discomfort, pain, and agony I more than likely will be facing.

I was reminded of that today when the dietitian met with us - explaining how she will help me with my diet. And as she continued to explain she described how I will be using my feeding tube to take my prescribed diet. And how I would be taking it every three hours - six times a day. Now this was all news to me. STUPID ME! I thought I was going to be using this for 'OLIVES' as George had suggested. Seriously I thought I would be blending up my meals at the times I couldn't eat or taking soup or 'Ensure' or something like that from time to time. But - more than likely my throat will get to a point where I will not be able to swallow and my diet will be completely ingested through my new 'pie hole'. With lots of water and my daily dosage of drugs will also be crushed and taken this way.

Not to worry about that now. I will be disconnected shortly and will head for the cafeteria.

I will continue after my radiation.

5:00pm
I'm home now from the hospital. The first day of radiation went as expected.

Well radiation technology is similar to an an x-ray except they turn up the power slightly. An x-ray comes at you at 110 volts and the radiation is about hundred times more powerful - at 110,000 volts or so. Just as too many x-rays (at the dentist or at the hospital) can cause damage, well the radiation really causes damage. The science and medical knowledge that is used is to 'fire' this radiation precisely at the cancer area while avoiding as much as possible of the good stuff. And that is where the problems begin because it is impossible to not hit some good stuff. In my case the good stuff is located inside of the back of my mouth, the bottom left area of my mouth and the top of my throat. This radiation will take up to two weeks possibly before I will notice any of these negative effects.

During the days ahead I will try to report how I am doing and feeling as much as possible.

I am feeling fine right now. The chemo and the radiation went rather well and I had been giving several different medications to help me avoid the nausea and dry mouth that is so often caused by the affects of chemo. They seem to be working good right now. The radiation is zero pain - but I am required to lay motionless for the complete time that is required for radiation. Today was about 25-30 minutes. Laying motionless is not as difficult as it may seem as I am completely restrained by a face mask and a head and upper body mold that has been previously fitted and adjusted just for me. The mold is placed on a movable bed and then the face restraining device is toggle bolted down to the bed through the mold into the bed. My knees are elevated and held up by a pillow like device that is placed underneath and my feet are disabled by attaching them together and then restraining them. It kind of feels like completing a face plant off of a bicycle after hitting the curb only I am laying face up versus face down. You don't even think about blinking. I hope I never have to twitch, cough, itch or most of all sneeze. What would I do.

I have pretty much described how I feel and what I did. There is one more thing of note. Talking to the dietitian was rather shocking and I was totally unprepared for her descriptions. As I have know knowledge of how I will feel in the future, her description of what I would be doing with the feeding tube in the future and how I would come to feel to need the feeding tube for energy, nourishment and medication was a lot of additional medical advise that I will more than likely need in the future. It also bothered Carol a lot.

Please apologize for this for being so long today and in the future they will be much shorter, especially as I become accustomed to the treatments and affects. I continue radiation every day, 5 days a week and am scheduled for 7 to 8 weeks. I am scheduled for two more chemo treatments at three week intervals.

I do plan on updating here every day after treatment. Please read, share and enjoy. I would appreciated that you 'Became a follower' of this blog and that you make 'comments' as this will be my best and easiest form of communication so that I can reach all of my family, friends, past co-workers and anyone else I may have encountered in the past. It certainly will be become shorter than today.

Keep sending all your thoughts and prayers my way. They are all appreciated.

Thanks - Patrick