It’s more of a gray area

I met with my radiation oncologist and we talked about my progress. The problem I had been experiencing with painful urination went away just a couple of days prior to my appointment. He said that painful urination is a typical side effect from radiation treatment to the pelvis and that most of the time it’s only temporary and just lasts a few days/weeks. He said that most of the apoptosis (cell death) within the tumor should take place in the few weeks following treatment. He wanted to schedule another PET scan about a week or so prior to surgery to see just how much of the tumor was left. He thought that I would have very good response and would not be surprised if the tumor had shrunk by half. I asked him how rads I received with each dose of radiation. He said that the scale was measured in grays (gy) instead rads and that I had been receiving a dose of 1.8 gy with each treatment and the form of radiation was just below that of gamma waves on the spectrum.

Setting the date

I met with my surgeon this this morning to schedule a date for surgery and March 23^rd would be the big day. We talked about the laparoscopic procedure and he said that I would be in the hospital for 3-5 days following surgery. He wanted me to stay home for at least two weeks after surgery and said it would take about 6 weeks before I was completely healed. He gave me a prep kit containing a McMargarita (bottle of magnesium citrate) several doses antibiotics (erythromycin and metronidazole) and a set of instructions. Now it was time to hurry up and wait.

Go with the flow

A few days after my last radiation treatment I began to experience a fair amount of pain while urinating and wondered if I had a bladder infection.  I felt like Tom Hanks in the Green Mile and I was wishing John Coffey would appear to help “take it back”.  Finally, I asked my oncologist to run a urinalysis and some cultures to see if it was indeed a bladder infection. The results were negative. It turned out that the painful burning sensation was a side effect of the radiation treatments. I had experienced some mild discomfort toward the end of my treatments, but nothing quite like this. Oddly enough, when I had to empty a full bladder it didn’t hurt as bad as when the volume was low. Using any abdominal muscles only made matters worse. I had to totally relax and just go with the flow.

All in the family

My sister, Patti had her first colonoscopy on MLK day and a sizable polyp was found during the procedure. It was now official; polyps had been found in all four siblings.

Last day of neoadjuvant therapy

This afternoon I went to the oncology office to have my portable IV pump, a.k.a. European carry-all disconnected The nursing staff gathered round to congratulate me on making it through treatment and gave me a bottle of sparkling cider to celebrate.  I thanked them, left the office and it felt wonderful to finally be free after being tethered to the portable IV, 24/7 for 7 weeks.