Radiation appointment

So I met with my radiation Doctor today, Dr. Woodhouse. He has a great personality and we hit it off right away - always a good sign. Hopefully this will all make sense as I type it....we are estimating 3-4 weeks of radiation. I will go in everyday, M-F, for about 20-30 minutes. I will go to the Cancer center in Fountain Valley, which is about a 10 minute drive from my house.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to monitor my blood counts and get some preliminary testing done. I have a CT scan next week. They will compare this scan to my original PET scan (with all the tumors) and put them together to have a computerized image of where they will radiate. I will be radiated on both my neck and my center chest. I will also be getting a tattoo on my chest (and no it's not one that will wash off) to allow for accuracy in the radiation placement. He says it will be small, a blue dot, but still, I'm not happy with the idea of more body changes. The tattoo is because when I breathe, my chest naturally rises and falls. The tattoo will keep the reference point - I wonder if insurance will pay to get that off when I am done?!?

The side effects are small to large....small being, minor skin discoloration (will go away), sore throat, trouble swallowing and fatigue. The larger side effects being that I may be more prone to breast cancer (because I am getting radiated in that area), thyroid issues, difficulty breathing (lungs will be effected), possible heart issues (also getting part of my heart) and weight loss. Of course the larger side effects are things he has to say, but aren't 100% likely. He is going to keep an eye on my lungs, especially because I am already having issues. He is also going to keep an eye on my heart - which is under stress and showing some abnormalities. I am getting a low dose of radiation, about 1/2 the amount a normal person would get. I am getting that, because I have no cancer cells in my body right now. If my body still had active tumors, then a higher radiation dose would be necessary. So, because of that, I think the larger side effects are less likely.

Dr. Woodhouse also suggested not having radiation. He had a patient come in who was against having it. But he and I felt the same....the PET scan shows no cancer cells, but the cancer cells have to be large enough to show up on the scan, it doesn't mean there aren't any there. The radiation will just kill the rest of whatever else is left. Plus, if I didn't have radiation I would have a lot more stress and anxiety going into follow up scans wondering if the cancer is back. I want to finish and close this chapter in my life. If I do everything right, there is something like a 95 % remission rate where the cancer never returns. That's what I want.