A Long Day

Wow, what a long and crazy day. My mom and I were at the doctor's office for four hours, and that doesn't include the time driving to and from Westwood. I understand UCLA is a busy place, but boy did it take forever to meet with the doctor. Plus on top of that scheduling my next appointments were so difficult because there were no immediate openings. So the earliest I could schedule any appointment was for next Wednesday, a whole week away. Very frustrating! Especially since I want to begin radiation as soon as possible! I hate just waiting around.

So today I met with the radiologist specialist and his team to talk about my radiation treatment schedule. The doctor says the schedule would include 20 business days of radiation therapy, everyday Monday through Friday. The radiation would be targeted at my right tonsil and lower jaw gland. The doctor says the radiation would kill any cancer cells that might still be located around my tonsils and would prevent any lymphoma from growing back in that area. Some of the side effects from the radiation would be a sore throat, a sore jaw, dry mouth, damage to my saliva gland, an increase risk of cavities, and exhaustion. Plus in my case it will be very annoying to have to drive down to Westwood everyday, especially since I live 40 minutes away in no traffic. However at this point, the radiation treatment might be the only option to avoid anymore damage to my heart. And don't worry I won't be radioactive!!

However, there are some concerns I have with the radiation therapy. For one thing I'm afraid it will not do as good of a job preventing new cancer cells from developing throughout my body. Since the radiation is targeted at my tonsils, the rest of my body doesn't receive that same protection. While with the chemo, my entire body receives the medication and therefore that protection. But I guess in my case my oncology doctor is pretty sure I should be alright, especially since we caught the cancer early, and since the doctors removed most of the lymphoma during my tonsillectomy. I do really trust this doctor and think, hopefully, it might actually be a good thing for my body to switch treatments.

Now I just have to get through the waiting part. I am so ready to just be done with this cancer that I really need to stay focused. After today's appointment I got the feeling that I was starting all over again in my fight against cancer, and that is really annoying. But I just have to remember that yes I'm starting a new type of treatment, but it doesn't mean I'm not close to winning the battle!
Danielle