Chemo Week #9

This is the "off" week in my third chemo cycle, so I do not have a treatment this week. The cumulative impact of the treatments has created some new challenges with the side effects, but overall they continue to manageable. I have had more energy for work and exercise last week and this week.

While this is an "off" week, there are two important additions to report. On Tuesday I met with Dr. Jeff Grass, a radiation oncologist to discuss radiation therapy. It was a very helpful discussion. I have a much better understanding of the treatments and the logistics. Radiation will likely start on Monday February 9. I will have a total of 30 daily treatments, lasting about six weeks. The radiation treatments will be focused on the lymph nodes in the center of my chest near the original tumor. There is no pain from an individual treatment, but the cumulative affect is somewhat similar to sunburn (inside and out). There will also be some fatigue, but it should not be as great as with chemo.

Since next Monday is a holiday in the US, I cannot get my regular treatment on that day. Therefore, we are pushing the cycle forward three days and I will have my last big treatment on Friday January 16. This also means my last chemo treatment will be on Friday January 23. This will give me two weeks of recovery time before radiation treatments begin.