jacquesusa's Cancer Blog

March 25, 2008

Chapter 2 Views: 845

Since my operation nearly 7 weeks ago, so much has happened. I have talked to friends, family and relatives, a priest, God, searched my soul several times a day and had doctor appointments almost daily.

Following surgery, my ENT doc surgeon who removed my lymph nodes had referred me to the local radiation oncology practice in my town. When i was told by my surgeon i needed to have follow up with ‘radiation’ treatment i naively thought to myself that it would be a couple of sessions perhaps and that they would target the area of the cancerous lymph nodes.

After an hour and half meeting with the radiation oncologist, i learned that it was 6 weeks of treatments, 5 days a week for a total of about 6000 Rads. I would lose my salivary glands, possibly my vocal chords, have sore throats for months, lose 30 pounds, need a feeding tube, and not have a guarantee of a cure. If i did nothing she could not tell me the difference in probability of the outcome. My whole neck, throat, nasal and esophagus would be targeted. I was horrified and to me this was a carpet bombing approach to attack a cancer that still might or might not be there. I swore to my self that i would take my chances then and wait to see if the cancer returned rather than bombard myself preemptively.

I consulted with my cousin and some friends who pushed me to get another opinion. A friend of mine whose wife had radiation for her breast cancer spoke highly of the head of oncology at Stony Brook University Hospital. I agreed to the consultation, though i had already made up my mind that unless anything drastically different was proposed and someone could demonstrate to me the clear benefits and probabilities of a cure that i would take my chances with doing nothing and just wait and get checked every few months.

Stony Brook University Hospital, is a highly regarded research and medical facility. As i walked through the medical campus, I Immediately realized that this place was in a different league. This was no longer the resources of a few private practitioners with some radiation equipment. This was a big time state of the art facility, several buildings, space age equipment with staff, doctors etc…

The doctor successfully burst my i’ll-wait-and-do-nothing-attitude, and convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that radiation was imperative and without it, the cancer was likely to return within 2 years and possibly in an area that would not be treatable. Also he assured me that though the radiation would be aggressive there were ways to reduce collateral damage, such as Amaphostine injections to protect my salivary glands, and generous use of pain medication as needed. My heart sunk, i realized that there was no escaping radiation, my nice and cosy plan to do nothing was no longer realistic. This cancer thing is real, and i will have to face it. On the positive side, i knew that if radiation was to be the treatment, this was definitely the place, where they were on the cutting edge.

In the past several weeks, i have had my radiation mask fitted, had tests done, a new mri, the big simulation test, and lastly a higher precision pet scan all in preparation for the eventual start of radiation. I was supposed to start the radiation this past monday, however i needed a couple more weeks to finish some projects i was working on in my business. When i spoke to the oncologist he told me it is customary to start around 6 weeks after surgery but in my case a couple of extra weeks would be acceptable. Especially since, the latest pet scan revealed some possible activity in my remaining left tonsil, that showed a possible ‘hot spot’. I was sent back to my ENT who then agreed that before any rad treatment, the tonsil had to come out. So now i have my reprieve. Surgery to remove my left tonsil is scheduled for Friday morning. It could be, though unlikely, the primary source of my cancer. If it was, i guess it would be good news of sorts, and the radiation therapy would be modified somewhat to address it.
So a massive sore throat is awaiting me Friday and the story continues to unfold.

By the way as i read the stories of what so many of you on this blog have gone through, i feel totally humbled by your courage and ordeals. The purpose for documenting what is happening to me, is mostly to give a play by play of the emotions and new realities that come in to play as i learn to accept my cancer.

To be continued….

Posted on March 25, 2008 at 8:36:05 PM by Jacques Ditte ( Link to this post.