So, last Friday I met with the radiation oncologist to have a planning meeting for the radiation therapy. We had a few questions going in, and more of them (as always) coming out.
The pathologist's report didn't discuss margins on the craniotomy. Usually, they like to get a two-inch margin around the outside of the tumor. This tumor, it turned out, wasn't just a little marble-shaped ball but was rather a kind of "spat" shape. They really didn't get any margin at all out of it, even though they took out a pretty big piece of my skull. (Maybe 4cm x 6cm?) The radiation doc went off to do some planning based on that, and his coming talk with the brain surgeon, and will have a better idea of what to do when I see him next on next Monday.
The upshot of it all is this: radiation is a better idea than ever due to the small margins and my relatively high CEA count. (CEA should be 5 or lower, not 20.) The risks are low, the side effects are minimal, and it is effective at eliminating cancer cell growth in a targeted area. I'm not thrilled at 5 weeks of going there and getting nuked every day, but it will only take 15 minutes of each day and I've done it before.
Here's the really good news, though. I asked the doc if I could take a couple of days off for the AMGA testing, which will be in West Virginia, and he said it would be fine. His words were "Sounds like living, to me!"
Me, too, doc.
Clem
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