Hamster in the Microwave

Back to the grindstone. So yesterday was enlightening and informative. We met with the radiation oncologist and discussed where he thought I was, what was happening, and what to do about it.

This particular doc has always been...skeptical...about my chances here. He has tried to be as up front and realistic as he can. I (Clem) appreciate that more than Pam does--she was about to jump down his throat! The good news is this: because there appears to be only a single site of new cancer growth, the odds are still with us that this is just an anomaly and that aggressive treatment will fix it. By "fix", they mean that there will be NED (no evidence of disease) and I can look forward to some long time period before having to worry very much about recurrence.

It seems that there is a pretty reasonable chance that a stray cancer cell got washed into the scalp around the scar by the bleeding that is normal for surgery. The purpose of radiation is to kill any of those things by stopping cells with rapid growth habits around the scar. Cancer cells have that kind of growth, but so do hair follicles. He said it's likely that I won't have my usual head of wavy Fabio hair growing back there, or much hair at all for that matter. I'm trying to decide if I'll do a Yul Brynner or go for the more modern Vin Diesel look. Yeah, any of those guys could easily be confused with me if the lighting was right. *eye roll* I told him that I had a little time, and would trade time for gentleness on my hair. (We're only talking a week extra, here.)

Speaking of time, here's the timeline so far: I'll meet with him this Friday for the radiation planning session. That's where I get tattoos and Sharpie drawings on my head. Next Wednesday we'll start the treatment, and it will run every weekday for about five weeks. Twenty or twenty-five sessions.

Each session will be short and painless--easier than last time. I'll lay face-down on the table and they'll crank up the X-Ray generator and zap the whole scar and a little bit of margin around it. Total time from start to finish: 15 minutes or so. There shouldn't be any problem with side effects on my brain, as neural tissue is very resistant to radiation. (It doesn't grow.) He said the skin will likely get reddish, and maybe kind of pimply for a while, but that will all recover quickly. Hair will probably fall out around the scar, and might re-grow, but probably not.

With that, I should be done with it and on the road.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Clem