Friday March 20th was my last radiation treatment. I’m not sure it was bitter sweet, in that I’m really glad it was over, but the Radiation Technicians that took care of me (and that’s exactly what they did) were just absolutely incredible, answered all my questions, always asked how I was doing and how the treatments were affecting me, and just really cared about making me better. I’m going to miss seeing them everyday, and will probably pop in to say hi when I’m at Princess Margaret for other appointments, but truth be told, I’m really glad it’s over.
It’s not so much that the treatments themselves were rough…. I mean, you’re just lying down on a bed, listening to good music, while this machine rotates around your head shooting radiation at it. But it’s the after effects and side affects that have been the problems. I can’t even begin to explain how tired and worn out the radiation made me feel. And as the treatments went on, the worse it would get. By the seventh week, I was spending most of the day in bed, either lying down resting, or sitting up just watching TV (usually sports, some bad renovation show, or some odd cooking “reality” show on the Food Network).
Another weird side effect that just started last week, was a slight paralysis on the right side of my face. When it started, I had a bit of a droop on the right side of my face, and I wasn’t able to raise my right eyebrow, smile or frown on my right side, or move my right cheek. The doctor’s weren’t sure exactly why it was happening, but they believe that it’s just due to normal swelling that is affecting one of the nerves (nerve #7 for those of you smart enough to know what that means…. I’m not) that control that function, and think it’s only temporary. To try to speed up the recovery, they’ve put me on a steroid, which seems to be helping, and has also totally reversed the tiredness feeling… Actually, I can’t believe the amount of energy I have while I’m on the steroids (not to mention this desire to go to the gym and lift, bro)…. but the crash after the steroid wears off is pretty bad. Word of advice kids…. Don’t do drugs!!
And my hair….. well, the back of my head looks like I got into a fight with Arturo Vidal’s barber…. (That probably doesn’t make sense if you’re not a Juventus or soccer fan, but too bad).
For food, the only thing I’m eating right now is breakfast, which is the same thing every day; warm milk, a shot of espresso in the milk, and social tea cookies in the milk that I eat when they’re soggy (it’s way better than it sounds). All my other “meals” are having Ensure through the feeding tube, which is reasonably convenient….. But to be honest, I really miss eating real food. I mean, I watch the Food Network just to keep my appetite alive, and I’m probably the only person in the world envious of Guy Fieri….. Seriously, what I wouldn’t give to do about 4 episodes of Diners, Drive-in’s and Dive’s right now. (Fun Fact: Guy Fieri and I share a birthday).
But anyway….. So, now that radiation is over, what’s next? Well, I’m glad you asked, dear reader.
So firstly, I have one month to recover to get the toxicity of the radiation out of my body. They’ve actually told me that the peak toxicity is a week to two weeks after the radiation finishes, so I should expect to feel even more tired, have more intense side effects, and just in general feel bad for about another week or so. But, as I mentioned above, I think the steroids are countering some of those feelings. I am currently not complaining.
I still have regular appointments at PMH, just so they can monitor what’s going on with me, and I’m about a have a nurse visit me weekly to check up on me, see how I’m doing, and help with changing the dressing on my feeding tube. So this will make sure that I’m getting better.
After my recovery month is over, then I start with the second stage of my treatments. I will be starting with a different type of chemotherapy, which will involve me going in overnight to have them start the chemo. They will hook me up to a pump, which will inject the chemo drugs over 4 days… which means I have to carry the pump around with me. The first chemo treatment should be sometime in mid to late April, and there are three treatments in total, following every 4 weeks. The doctors have told me that the treatments shouldn’t be that bad, but for the week of getting the treatments and the week following, I’ll probably be pretty limited in what I’ll be able to do (more Guy Fieri, I guess).
So that’s where I’m at…. First stage of cancer treatments done. Almost there!
Oh…. And don’t forget to get your tickets to the PMH Home Lottery. The Big Bonus Prize deadline is this Friday, and those prizes include a New York shopping spree, an all inclusive trip to the Monaco Grand Prix, a trip to the British Open at St. Andrews, and a trip to the 2015 Emmy Awards in L.A. Each of these prizes is valued at almost $30k… yes 30….. And, as with many of their prizes, you can take the cash instead of the prize….. So who’s coming to Monaco with me??
