Travelling Through Radiation

Today I had my 20th of 24 radiation treatments.  I am 5/6ths of the way through!  Today I had the fifth and final bottle of chemotherapy attached through my portacath – I have a bottle of chemo each of the last five weeks.  Today‘s treatments were like lightning:

• Arrived at Chemo Day Therapy at 1.55 for 2.00pm appointment – was called at 2.10 and bottle attached by 2.30 – fastest ever; and
• Arrived at Radiation Oncology at 2.40 for 3.15 appointment – was called at 2.50 and finished by 3.10pm – I was home by 3.40pm – WOW!

This followed Friday afternoon where I experienced the fastest ever detachment of chemotherapy bottle.  Hope the rest of this week is like this.

Travelling By Car

Since I started chemo back in 2011 I have prided myself on walking to and from treatments, including walking home after my stoma operation.  Two weeks ago I had to resort to driving.  While I am physically able to walk, my feeling of needing a toilet meant I needed to drive.  It is only a 15 minute walk but I felt I could not make that distance comfortably.  As well, Sydney had enormous amounts of rain!  Parking is available at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and I receive free parking for radiation treatment.

Travelling Uncomfortably

The medications I mentioned in my last blog have helped but I still experience discomfort.  Additionally, I have had a heavy cold these past two weeks.  The coughing adds to the discomfort, especially at night.  I have used a heated wheat bag to provide relief across my stomach.

While our daughter-in-law is getting up one to three times each night to feed her six week old son, I am getting up three to seven times each night to use the toilet.  The gaps between visits can be as short as half an hour and occasionally as long as 2.5 hours.  I am getting enough sleep.

Barbara has looked after me so well during this treatment, making life much more comfortable.

This last weekend my daughters-in-law and Barbara were telling me that I only had one more week of treatment.  I wanted them to be more sympathetic!  After the treatment stops at the end of this week, the discomfort is likely to continue for up to another two weeks – must be realistic.

When I am at radiation oncology I am reminded of how fortunate I am.  Some patients, like me, come themselves; some come with a helper; others are in wheel chairs; and some are on beds.

After the radiation side effects disappear I expect to be walking to and from the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse again.

Travelling Into the Future

Barbara and I saw Doctor Kate Mahon this morning at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.  She is very happy with how well I am handling the radiation and chemotherapy.

Today's blood test shows the cancer marker is at 1.9.  It has been running at 2.5 to 3.0.  These are all in the normal range.   I think it is good to see a relatively large reduction in the cancer marker.  Perhaps the radiation and chemotherapy's effect on the cancer tumours in the rectum have resulted in this reduction.

Dr Kate commented that I do not have that much cancer in my liver – first time we have heard it expressed like this.  My next appointment with her is 10.00 am Monday 29 June.

Before seeing Dr Kate again, she asked me to arrange to see Doctor Chris Young for another Flexible Sigmoidoscopy inspection of my rectum.  This is necessary to assess the benefit of the radiation.   MRI and CT scans do not provide enough information.  I hope to arrange for this by the end of this week.  I will also have a CT scan before seeing Dr Kate.

It is wonderful to receive such an upbeat assessment.

Arriving at My 65th Birthday

This Friday, 8 May, the last day of my radiation treatment, I turn 65 – the official retirement age – the official age of being a senior citizen.  Our family is celebrating with dinner at Pizza Da Noi, a few minutes walk from home with a conveniently located toilet.

So far on the Friday evenings at the end of a week of radiation and chemo I have felt at a low ebb.  I am hoping to be OK this Friday to enjoy celebrating this milestone on the actual day.

I do confess that as I approached turning 60 years of age, I expected to still be feeling relatively young turning 65.  While still 60, I was diagnosed with cancer.  Now I feel old before my time.

Travelling Positively

Meanwhile, Dr Kate’s upbeat assessment is very encouraging.  Last Tuesday Dr Sue Carroll, the radiation oncologist said that radiation removes such cancerous tumours in 20% of cases.  Dr Chris Young will assess the results and options, including an operation to remove my rectum.

If the next CT scan shows the liver cancer remains dormant and there is a really good result from the radiation of the tumours, then I think those of you who have been praying for healing can say a level of healing has occurred.  Certainly, the expert medical treatment has been able to provide a quality of life while suffering from a chronic health problem.  Quality of life was Dr Lisa Horvath’s promise four years ago!