Radiation 101
During one of my radiation treatments last week, Chris got the full tour from my radiation technician. She was kind enough to let him take pictures and watch from behind the scenes as I got my treatment. It was great for me, because aftewards I asked him all kinds of questions about things I don't get to see! Below are some of the pictures that he took. The one next to the door is to show how thick the door is that separates the treatment room from everything else while the patient is being treated. The whole thing is so fascinating to me...
Yesterday was officially my last day of treatment. I got to remove the stickers on my chest and black sharpie marks. After my treatment I met with my oncologist to begin chemo again. My counts were back to normal so she gave me the okay to continue. I will go in for blood work next week to see if I can keep my two week on/off schedule or if we will have to cut back due to my counts being too low.
We also discussed the results of my MRI. She confirmed that the test showed several small fractures on both of my hips. She said it was an early sign of osteopenia (which is an early stage of osteoperosis). Next week I will start on a drug to help revive the bone loss. It will be give to me by IV once a month. It will probably take a few months before the bone starts to rebuild, but they don't want the problem to get worse. She said these fractures are most likely a result of being on prednisone for a long period of time and having not gone on a hormone replacement when my ovaries stopped functioning. At least we're being pro-active and taking care of the problem at an early stage.
Another thing that was brought to my attention was the possibility of removing my Hickman catheter. I'm still continuing to have daily fevers, which are very unpredictable. Sometimes I have them more than once a day and they can get up to 101F, which really drains me out and makes me feel miserable. Because my cathether has been in for two years now, they're concerned that it might be infected and could be causing the fevers. Most BMT patients only have their Hickman's in for a maximum of 3 months. I told them that I would only consider it if it could be surgically removed. Generally it's removed by simply just pulling it out, which is a horrific event. My first one was taken out this way and I was completely traumatized. Because this one has been in for so long, it would probably take a couple of people pulling on it and there's NO WAY that will be happening while I'm awake. I do often think of how nice it would be to be able to go swimming again and wear cute tops (something I haven't been able to do for 2 years), but I also think of the suffering I go through when I have to have an IV put in. I can't imagine going through that pain again on a regular basis. There's always the option of putting in a port (catheter that is under the skin) if necessary so it's definitely something to consider.
Yesterday was officially my last day of treatment. I got to remove the stickers on my chest and black sharpie marks. After my treatment I met with my oncologist to begin chemo again. My counts were back to normal so she gave me the okay to continue. I will go in for blood work next week to see if I can keep my two week on/off schedule or if we will have to cut back due to my counts being too low.
We also discussed the results of my MRI. She confirmed that the test showed several small fractures on both of my hips. She said it was an early sign of osteopenia (which is an early stage of osteoperosis). Next week I will start on a drug to help revive the bone loss. It will be give to me by IV once a month. It will probably take a few months before the bone starts to rebuild, but they don't want the problem to get worse. She said these fractures are most likely a result of being on prednisone for a long period of time and having not gone on a hormone replacement when my ovaries stopped functioning. At least we're being pro-active and taking care of the problem at an early stage.
Another thing that was brought to my attention was the possibility of removing my Hickman catheter. I'm still continuing to have daily fevers, which are very unpredictable. Sometimes I have them more than once a day and they can get up to 101F, which really drains me out and makes me feel miserable. Because my cathether has been in for two years now, they're concerned that it might be infected and could be causing the fevers. Most BMT patients only have their Hickman's in for a maximum of 3 months. I told them that I would only consider it if it could be surgically removed. Generally it's removed by simply just pulling it out, which is a horrific event. My first one was taken out this way and I was completely traumatized. Because this one has been in for so long, it would probably take a couple of people pulling on it and there's NO WAY that will be happening while I'm awake. I do often think of how nice it would be to be able to go swimming again and wear cute tops (something I haven't been able to do for 2 years), but I also think of the suffering I go through when I have to have an IV put in. I can't imagine going through that pain again on a regular basis. There's always the option of putting in a port (catheter that is under the skin) if necessary so it's definitely something to consider.
posted by Erika @ 5:54 PM
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