Boy, my family and friends must have a lot of pull with the universal gods. Today was the big day - my consultation with the radiologist. I liked her VERY much and feel very safe in her care. The cancer is stage IIIA, and I will be having the full course of radiation, 6-7 weeks of daily treatments, starting next week. Tomorrow I have the CT scan to determine site, position, etc., and later this week the dreaded MRI that I thought I'd avoided. ( to scan the brain as a base line for the future.) I'm familiar with this treatment from the breast cancer, but it is likely to have more side effects than I experienced then. They will be radiating two sites, the tumor and the lymph node. The latter is close to the trachea and esophagus, so I may have pain or discomfort eating. Also, it may be more tiring - but that's what they said I would feet last time and I didn't. There remains a question about the sternum - it is hot on the PT scan, as if there were cancer there, but it's more likely that it is the injury from my fall that causes it to show up like that. In about three months, we'll test again...if it shows less, than we can assume it is the injury which is healing. So you can all help now by visualizing a healing sternum...
Honestly, I feel quite positive about what's unfolding. There is the possibility of cure, or at least containment. I'm planning to have the radiation in the AM, and then work in the afternoon, so life will continue pretty much as usual, at least to begin with. I'll cut out the extras and be prepared to cut back work if, in fact, it is too tiring. Truthfully, I really don't know what to expect in the way of discomfort, pain and/or fatigue, so I'm planning to take it one day at a time.
Stand by for updates from time to time - and maybe even calls for help...
Love,
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