Radiant

As the sounds of The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed warbled from the sound system, I underwent my first session of radiation treatment Thursday.  It was blessedly uneventful.

We arrived early and a little anxious.  The radiology office truly put us at ease, addressing me by name with a smile as I entered the building.  Pretty much right on time, a technician ushered us back to one of their two radiation rooms.  We grabbed a couple quick snaps of the enormous machine in the center; I doffed my shirt and then took my position laying on the tray.  Turns out I am not laying in a cast but just on this tray with handles, exactly like the tray used for the previous week’s CT scan – so I assume the exact same position.  The technicians then aligned my body with positioning lasers aimed at the tattoo dots I received last week.  Then everyone left the room.

“Well, we all need someone we can lean on . . .” sang Mick Jagger as the giant machine came to life.  The tray raised me up and a little closer to the machine’s axis, while two x-ray wings on the sides folded inwards toward me.   The whole machine then slowly orbited around me a couple times.   They were doing a couple x-ray scans to make sure I was aligned precisely right.  Then  . . I . . waited on the slab, er, “tray” while they retrieved the radiologist to the control room to approve my positioning.  Finally ready, they commenced.  The x-ray wings folded back, and the machine gave out a loud, vibrating hum.   The irradiating head made two orbits around me of about 40 seconds each.   I may have felt a small amount of heat, and I strained my eyes to see the fan blades inside the machine adjusting slightly as it turned by my front.   The hum stopped, and the machine started to reset.   That was it.    1 down, 19 more to go.

In the afternoon I had my second session of energy balancing and therapeutic massage.  It’s a little bit of counseling with an alternative bent before the bodywork begins, and it was a terrific antidote to the stress of the morning.   In the late afternoon I was tired, but it could have been from the massage, stress, or my daughter waking us up early – as much as it might have been from the treatment.  I took a rest, and by the evening I actually felt more energized than ever.   I may eventually develop fatigue from the cumulative treatment.  We’ll see.

Today’s session was much the same, although the music was some generic Sinatra knock-off I didn’t recognize.   Debra tells me it’s Michael Bublé.  (I’m out of the pop loop.)  It was followed by a quick check-up with the radiologist.   We reviewed that I will be receiving 20 sessions of 150 centigrade radiation for a cumulative dose of 3000 centigrade.  (I may not have the unit name exactly right.)   The radiation damages the DNA of the tumor cells.  When the cells grow and divide, they die.   Thus, the eradication is not instantaneous but only occurs as the tumor cells attempt to develop.   So I’ll have that follow-up PET scan in 8-10 weeks to check on progress, and then I’ll wait the 6 months before having an endoscopy to confirm that all the tumor cells are eradicated.   The radiation does affect some healthy cells in the area of the tumor, but healthy cell tissue is able to repair itself more quickly, within a few weeks.  

Interestingly, this radiation is an “oxidizing” process; so taking massive doses of healthful anti-oxidants would work against the treatment.  The radiologist did say I can eat my vegetables, but he warned against doing any unusual treatments while undergoing the radiation.   I meet with a nutritionist from his office next Tuesday, but I think I’ll put on hold the super-alkalized water I was going to place into my diet.

He also suggested that we now wait a few weeks before soliciting the second opinion.  City of Hope had “triaged” me to more junior physician, noting that the head doctor we wanted was unavailable.  My radiologist said he knows the top guy and will get me in at the proper time.  I’m still waiting for UCLA to prepare the biopsy slides I ordered last week anyway.  

And I’m feeling good, looking toward my last session on November 11.   Maybe we’ll have a party.