Radiation, Post 1 of 3

Brrrrr!!

Baby, It's cold outside!  Winter is finally here!

On Wednesday, I had my initial Radiation Consultation with my Radiation Doctor (Dr. Sharon Dutton) in Roseville.  I've been putting off this post due to the various appointments I had this week and different conversations with different doctors.  I will fill you in with all the details over a series of 3 posts.

I guess it hasn't really hit me until this week, that my margins were positive after surgery, meaning I still have cancer in my leg.  I guess I've been somewhat in denial.  Well, denial is over - time to face this Radiation head on... Time to get on that road to recovery!!

Nerves

After filling out the usual load of 'new patient' paperwork, Nurse Stella brought me back to the exam room.  By this time I was pretty nervous, I'm not going to lie.  I'm not sure why, I wasn't going to have any treatments.  Today was only for a consultation.  I think that I was nervous because I was facing more Cancer treatments.  I have to tell myself that it's 'ok' to be nervous.  Tuesday night my friend Molly sent me this: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7  I re-read it when I was waiting to be brought into the exam room - even though I was nervous, I know I'm not alone.  

My Nurse Stella came out and introduced herself.  She walked me back to the exam room.  Turns out I know my nurse.  Well, I don't know, know her but, we both worked-out at the same place in Roseville (when I could work out).  It's such a small world!  I then changed into my exam gown.

Once in the room, Nurse Stella preformed various vital tests on me and asked lot of questions to get up to speed as to how I got to be in the exam room with her today.  About 30 minutes later, after discussing everything from my tumor to Lululemon, It was time for me to met Dr. Dutton.  She even turned my exam table into a comfy chair!!

Radiation Consultation

Dr. Dutton came in and talked with Nate and I for a while.  She had lot of questions targeting how I'm doing during my recovery from surgery, my health history, etc.  She then examined my incision and performed various tests to see how my nerve is recovering.  I'm still having a ton of pain in my lower leg from the nerve that was 'pissed-off' during surgery.  Dr. Dutton had me change out of my exam gown and she came back in to discuss the ups and downs of my upcoming Radiation and to answer any questions we have.

My Plan

Dr. Dutton came back in and told me that I a really healthy lady and that makes her job a lot easier!  She told me that I will need to have 6 weeks of Radiation, 5 days per week!  I will get Christmas Day and New Year's Day off.  She told me that my treatment plan is more complex than most radiation plans because there isn't much room for error in the inside knee area where my tumor was removed.  There isn't much muscle, or anything.  She reminded me that my tumor was next to my bone.  She told me that she will need to make sure that the Radiation only hits the area that needs treatment because if they are off and radiate my bone, it could cause a bone break.  To avoid this, they will shield the other side of my knee area, and will come up with a treatment plan where the Radiation will not penetrate too deep and will be very, very exact.

She told me that the good news about having Radiation in my leg area is that I will permanently loose hair where the radiation treatment is administered!  Booyah - no shaving needed on that portion of my leg!  Dr. Dutton told me that I should expect to have stiff tissues, especially where the scar tissue is.  She told me that Radiation will be similar to having a really bad sunburn, mixed with being really, really tired.  She told me that she will prescribe different creams that should help with the side effects on my skin, and pain.

New York

Nate and I told her about our planned trip to New York.  We are scheduled to fly out Friday Morning, December 27th and return on Saturday, January 4th.  She went over to her calendar and looked at the days.  She told me that I would miss treatment on the 27th and the 5 days of the following week.  She told me that she would prefer not to have a break in my treatment and mentioned that maybe we hold off the Radiation start date until Jan 6th, the Monday after we return.  She told me that it is not proven but there are studies that show if you pause radiation without getting to the half-way point of 3 weeks...that the Cancer's DNA doesn't get all the way killed so the Cancer cells go into 'life-saving mode' and the cells will start multiplying at double the rate!! I really liked the idea of waiting since the radiation will cause me to be tired, and I don't want to be too tired in New York - but now that she said that... I WANT TO WAIT!!  She told me that she will need to consult with my Surgeon and my Radiation Doctor.  She mentioned that the 3 hours of Radiation that I received in Surgery is equivalent to 2 weeks of treatment.  If we start on January 6th - it will only be 8 weeks from surgery and it should be ok to start then.  She told me that she will let us know if I will start radiation next week with a break for my trip OR if we will just wait until January, by the end of the week.

Next Steps

Dr. Dutton gave me two things to do next.... #1. I had to go straight to the lab to get blood drawn for a pregnancy test.  In case you were wondering, it was negative.  Here I am getting my blood drawn.

#2. Come in the very next day, on Thursday for CT scan of my leg/knee area.

I just adore Dr. Dutton.  I found out that she's been married for over 30 years, and she's been in Radiation Therapy for almost as long!  She is absolutely gorgeous and her delivery of a somewhat negative treatment, is very positive.  I am very thankful for her and her staff!

Thank you for reading!