Radiation

We met with the radiation doctor, Dr. T last Thursday. I would have started this next Monday but he is going to be out of town.. Too bad that means I have one more week off. Not complaining here. I got my mapping done and they did my little tattoos, once I get my computer to upload pictures I will post some.

So here is a list of the things that we learned.

1. At the beginning before I started Chemotherapy I was consider unfavorable do to the amount of hot spots – bright colors on the PET scan
2. Now I am classified as Complete response

Areas that they are going to radiated
1. Mediatuim/ Heart
2. Left neck
3. Left supraclav
4. Left axilla

Symptoms
Acute- will happen during radiation

1. fatigue
2. Skin- will turn pink like a sunburn
3. Esophagus/ swallowing – my esophagus will get sore/bothered and will hurt to swallow.
4. Spinal cord – lhermitte syndrome – I may have tingling in my back from my spinal cords getting irritated but it will go away.
5. Hoarseness/ Cough
6. Neck stiffness
7. Dry mouth
8. taste buds may be altered
9. nausea
10. Myelosuppression- A condition in which bone marrow activity is decreased, resulting in fewer red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets

Chronic- symptoms that may come later down the road

1. Secondary Cancer
a. Breast cancer - I will need to start getting mammograms when I turn 34 instead of 40
b. lung cancer
2. Cardiac
a. Pericarditis
b. Congestive heart disease
c. Carinary artery disease
3. Lung – Pneumonition- 10% normally happens 1 month after radiation therapy
4. Fertility – birth defects – have to 1 year to start trying for baby #3
5. Esophagus – stricture

I know that there are some spelling errors on some of these medical terms. My internet isn’t working so well and isn’t working on some of the medical sites to get the correct spelling and definitions – wrote what I could read from Dr. T handwriting. So once it is working again I will fill in the rest.