The Plan

Monday was my first appointment with the radiation oncologist. It was pretty uneventful, just the usual new patient health history questionnaire where I got to answer awkward questions like, "Do you wear dentures?" Seriously?

After the weird, age inappropriate questions, the doctor came in and got down to business. If my PET scan comes back negative, meaning no cancer, I will undergo only 17 radiation treatments. If my PET scan comes back positive, I will have 22 radiation treatments. I will receive radiation five days a week and it will only be for a few minutes. Most of the time will actually be spent getting my body in the proper position for zapping.

I was curious why I would need to have radiation even if my PET scan came back negative. Why treat cancer that doesn't exist? According to my doctor, research shows that it is better long term if patients receive radiation even if the PET scan does not detect cancer. I took the doctor for his word, but Shane said he was surprised I didn't ask him to cite the research.

Side effects from radiation are cumulative, building up over time. Because the number of treatments is on the low end, the side effects will just be building up when I am finishing. The side effects of radiation are also site specific. With the cancer being in my neck/chest area, the most prominent effect I will notice is an inflammation of my esophagus. But hopefully I will only have to put up with a week or two of painful swallowing, just around the time of the most delicious food of the year, Thanksgiving. Even if it is too painful to eat turkey, I will enjoy some mashed potatoes and have much to be thankful for this year.