And Then a Doctor Update
I know I'm posting twice in a row here, but I felt like the doctor visit update should be a separate post from the Thanksgiving one.
SO...
Today we went to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus to meet Dr. Fleming who will be my internal radiation oncologist. There I also met the RN, Beth, and a resident named Dr. Sheplan, who are my two new favorite people ever.
They REALLY explained to us the entire procedure, including not just what they will be doing once my current treatments are done, but the reasoning behind my currents treatments as well. We got time-lines and definitions and side-effect lists and even visual aids.
The basic gist is this: the external beam radiation and the chemotherapy are working together right now to both shrink the tumor and also help prevent any minute spreading that may not have shown up on the scans. Once that is finished (December 14th), I get a week off and then I will have 5 sessions of the internal radiation (called Brachy Therapy) which comes with catheters and Demerol (wheee...). The aforementioned "worst case scenario" was described in much less horrific detail and in much greater specifics as to how utterly rare it would be that such a thing would even happen. Like less than a 1% chance. Way less. Yay! And then after the 5 treatments, we wait 4-6 weeks, I see all my doctors again, get exam-ed and poked and prodded and scanned and if all goes as everyone hopes: NO MORE CANCER!
And if not, well... then we find out at that point what's next. But my plan is to knock this shit outta here by then because I have a plane ticket to Rome that I'd rather not have to push back.
Xxo, Phoebe
SO...
Today we went to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus to meet Dr. Fleming who will be my internal radiation oncologist. There I also met the RN, Beth, and a resident named Dr. Sheplan, who are my two new favorite people ever.
They REALLY explained to us the entire procedure, including not just what they will be doing once my current treatments are done, but the reasoning behind my currents treatments as well. We got time-lines and definitions and side-effect lists and even visual aids.
The basic gist is this: the external beam radiation and the chemotherapy are working together right now to both shrink the tumor and also help prevent any minute spreading that may not have shown up on the scans. Once that is finished (December 14th), I get a week off and then I will have 5 sessions of the internal radiation (called Brachy Therapy) which comes with catheters and Demerol (wheee...). The aforementioned "worst case scenario" was described in much less horrific detail and in much greater specifics as to how utterly rare it would be that such a thing would even happen. Like less than a 1% chance. Way less. Yay! And then after the 5 treatments, we wait 4-6 weeks, I see all my doctors again, get exam-ed and poked and prodded and scanned and if all goes as everyone hopes: NO MORE CANCER!
And if not, well... then we find out at that point what's next. But my plan is to knock this shit outta here by then because I have a plane ticket to Rome that I'd rather not have to push back.
Xxo, Phoebe
Comments
I get everything you wrote about Lake Erie...she was my therapy for many years. Also, in my RN & lawyer experience, patients with your fuck-you (sorry, Jim!) attitude toward their diagnoses frequently do very well. In fact, attitude seems to matter as much as science...maybe more.
Anyway, sent you a donation.
Gale Freeman