One third down, two to go...

This last Thursday I had another appointment with my oncologist. We discussed the option of Radiation therapy, but so far a decision has not been made. To clarify, if I do end up getting radiation therapy, I will not start that until a couple of weeks after chemotherapy is completed. Therefore, if it does happen, it won’t start until around Christmas time. This means that my doctor still has a lot of time to seek the advise of other oncologists to ensure that the best decision is made. I feel extremely confident in my doctor and I know that he will only recommend what is best for me.

I started the second third of my chemotherapy regimen on Thursday and I am beginning to feel the cumulative effects of chemo. Fatigue is getting worse, and a few side effects are starting to become noticeable that did not exist in the first third. My fingertips and toes are slightly numb, and bouts of nausea are more common. I still think that my side effects have been minimal and I am very lucky, but I do expect things to start getting worse.

I scheduled a second PET scan that will be on Monday Oct. 29th. This PET scan will hopefully show either a reduced amount of cancerous cells, or a complete lack of cancerous cells. However, no matter the results of the scan, my chemotherapy will remain the same. A negative PET scan could assist my oncologist in the radiation decision, but that is all. I will have another PET scan after chemo is complete to determine if the chemo was successful, and every six months thereafter to determine if there is a relapse. The first two years are the most crucial as that is when there are the most recurrences. But that is getting too far in the future, and right now I need to take it one day at a time