Hey and howdy all! Just a quick update. Hope you all got through the Christmas holidays accident free and that 2013 is a great year for everyone! As for myself, I've finished the chemo treatments and the last CT Scan showed the original tumor has shrunk to less than half the size it was in September when the treatments started. The Oncologist claims to be very happy with that, as does my family doc. In spite of the fact that I had a flu shot in early December, I still would up with a nasty session of it all over Christmas and New Years. Finally getting some spark back and not congested and coughing nearly as much. Guess my resistance was down due to the chemo. Recent blood tests show everything pretty much back to normal now. My daughter's two little ones had a touch of the flu just before Christmas and I no doubt spent too much time with them, although I'm not sure one can EVER spend too much time with their Grandchildren!
Had a meeting last week with a Radiation Oncologist and they're going to give me some radiation treatments as well. Twenty sessions in all. Ten to my brain and ten to my lungs starting on the 21st. This kind of caught me by surprise as I was initially told that the type of cancer I have (small cell lung cancer) is normally not treated with radiation. My assumption was that I was going to get one preventative shot of radiation to the brain. When I asked the Radiation Oncologist if the fact that they were going to give me ten treatments to the brain meant that the cancer had spread to there, he kind of skirted the issue by telling me that there are two areas in particular that this type of cancer likes to attack, the bones (which we know it has spread to because I have a couple of recent compression fractures in the upper spine) and the brain cells. The implication was that yes, it has spread there although he didn't come right out and say it. He did say that either way, they were still going to give me ten treatments. I'll take it! To me it's a positive indication that they're not giving up, which they would do if there hadn't been significant signs of remission from the chemotherapy. They've all been very honest with me in that there is no way to actually kill this cancer and the goal is simply to prolong my life. That's cool....... I'm shooting for another five years!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and kind thoughts. I can feel them and I know they work! Take care and all the best to you and your families!
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