Radiation Therapy update

I completed treatment number 15 today. That leaves 5 more on my back and 10 more on the primary tumor. Up until the last couple of days, I haven't had much in the way of side effects from the treatments, but now I am starting to feel more tired and worn out. I have also noticed increase tenderness in the primary tumor and today, I started feeling some achiness in my back as well. Ibuprofen seems to help. The 90+ mile round trip to the Huntsman Cancer Hospital every day gets old too.

Patti and I met with Dr. Hitchcock, my radiation oncologist and reviewed the treatment schedule and she asked how I was feeling. She also noted that I am developing radiation rash on my back somewhat. I hadn't noticed, but in two distinct areas, I have what looks like sunburn from the radiation. Fortunately for me, I can't feel it, yet. She warned me during my first consultation that these areas can actually break down and become quite bothersome. She told me today to start using moisturizing cream and to keep an eye on them. I will, I will.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Mother's day and had all of our children and grandchildren over for a dinner. It was wonderful to have family together and visit. Here is a picture of Patti and I on that day.

Thanks as always to everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes. We so appreciate the support we are receiving from neighbors, family and friends, far and near.

God bless you all.

Jim & Patti

Radiation Therapy

It is Saturday morning and I thought I would give a brief update on the radiation treatment. I have now had a total of 7 treatments to both the primary tumor in my arm pit and also to the lesion in my back. I met with Dr. Hitchcock (my radiation oncologist) on Wednesday to review the treatments and such.

She informed me that the primary tumor will receive 25 total treatments and that the lesion in my vertebrae (T8) will receive 20. Other than that, the treatment will continue. I have had no significant side effects or problems with the treatments. However, I do notice some tenderness in the area of the primary tumor and last night, I did notice some burning of the skin in the area of my arm pit. These symptoms were all explained prior to starting treatment as things to expect. So far, I can live with it. They did tell me that the side effects would become more pronounced after the second week. Oh, I still struggle with fatigue and lack of stamina. I can't believe how pooped out I get when doing little things around the house or yard.

I have to brag about some wonderful neighbors. I have been working on building a small block retaining wall on both sides of my driveway for about two years. Last year, I started on the North side of the driveway and would be able to work for a couple of hours digging and stacking these heavy blocks and then I'd have to rest because of my lower back pain. Well, a month or so ago, the boy scouts in our ward asked if they could help with the wall as a service project. Who am I to turn down free labor? They came one night with their leaders and worked for a couple of hours and got that side finished. Unfortunately due to other activities, they haven't been able to return to work on the other side.

This past Tuesday, I got a call from a good friend and neighbor asking if he, his wife and another neighbor could come by and work on the walls. The three of them showed up and spent a number of hours and got the entire south side of the driveway done. I can't believe it! It took me all summer last year to go several feet. These two groups of wonderful people did the entire thing in a matter of hours. I am so impress and my back is so thankful!

So here are some pictures:














On the left is the South wall and on the right is the North wall. Sorry that you can't see the North wall very well, the sun was shining and obliterated half of the wall as it goes out front of the house. Anyway, you get the idea.

I am completely blown away by the kindness of so many people. Neighbors and friends have brought meals and called and visited. A couple of Saturdays ago, 24 neighbors showed up (a day or two after my first chemo treatment when I was really sick) and cleaned up my yard. They pruned trees and shrubs and raked up leaves and mowed the lawn. It was wonderful.

Professional friends and associates have contributed financially and that has been an enormous help too. We travel about 90+ miles round trip daily for the radiation treatments, doctors visits, tests and other treatments and with gas prices as they are, that has been an enormous expense as well. The medical bills have been coming in and even after insurance, they are significant. Just this past week, we have received over $700.00 in bills for co-pay amounts. Not working at either my primary employment at the University of Utah or my secondary employment at Timpanogos Family Medicine or the ER job at Timpanogos Regional Hospital has cut into our monthly income by about $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 so that has been a significant monthly drop. Thanks to these generous people, we are meeting all of our obligations so far.

Thank you to everyone for support of every kind. The e-mails and cards are wonderful. The visits and meals are equally appreciated. The labor and help around the house are very much appreciated by my back. Thanks everyone! We so appreciate it all. May God bless you, each and every one.

Jim, Patti and family.

It has started - glowing in the dark (not really)

Another day, another adventure.

I started radiation therapy for my cancer today. However, I do need to apologize to everyone for the several typos I keep leaving in these posts. No matter how many times I read through them before I click on the "Publish Post" button, I can't seem to see any mistakes. Then, the next time I go to post something and read the previous post to make sure I am covering everything, I find typos. Sorry folks. I'm doing the best I can!

My first radiation treatment went without a hitch. Everything seemed to work well and the staff at the Huntsman Cancer Institute are wonderful.

I tried to get a good picture of the sign over the front desk at the Radiation Oncology department, but it was really difficult to get into a good position with all the reflections. Sorry.

My appointments will be at 9:30 a.m. every weekday for the next 5 weeks. One of the unexpected pleasures of this is running into someone from forgotten years of high school.





The two ladies to the left here are some of the receptionists at Radiation Oncology, Susan (on the left) and Edith on the right. The first time I checked in to this department last week, Susan recognized my name and me. Turns out we went to high school together 34 years ago. Wow! This IS a small world.







This is the team that worked on me today. I didn't catch the names of the young ladies, but I met Glenn (on the right) yesterday when I came in for the dry run and finalization of calculations. They are all very nice.











Here is the mold they created last week during my first visit. See the last post for details about the unusual experience of being molded.










This mold holds me in the exact same position every time I come in for treatment. It's pretty comfortable and fits really well.










Once I am on the table and in the mold, the table is moved into position under the "linear accelerator" for positioning with laser sights using the tattoos they placed last week. These guys seem to have fun. They tend to pull out their magic markers and draw on me every time I see them. The tattoos are circled and dotted every time for sighting in.




You can see some of the marks here. There is a faint laser line running up and down, right in the mid-line of my body. Not sure if you can see it in this picture.

You can see how big the tumor still is at the top of the picture. Also, notice how little chest hair I have. I used to be pretty hairy. Not now.

The white tube going into my chest is my central IV line for IV fluids when they start chemo again. They decided to leave it in for future use.



If you look really close, you can see laser lines in this picture, lining me up for treatment. You can also see the site of the biopsy done back on February 20th. Again, you can see the central ("Hickman") line for the chemo-therapy. This requires daily flushing with heparin to keep it from clotting off.







And finally, here I am, all alone, in the dark, being targeted like a deer in a rifle scope, irradiated and actually pretty comfortable during the entire thing, so far.

I am told that the effects of radiation therapy are cumulative. This means that for the first couple of weeks, I won't feel much effect. After that, the area starts to become a little tender and the skin can become tender like with a sunburn. As the treatments continue, those effects may increase. Every individual is different. Every body reacts to the treatment in it's own way.

Oh yes, the primary tumor is irradiated from the front and then the big round thing rotates around to the back and hits it a second time from that direction. Then, everything is repositioned and the spine lesion is hit from behind as well (just in case you wanted to know).

Once again, I thank everyone for their extreme kindness and encouragement. I do appreciate the prayers and expect to recover fully.

Jim