Tattoos, Mug Shots, 30 Bodies in a Minivan...& its only Thursday!

Ok, now that I have your attention & before I get to the tattoos, mug shots & 30 bodies in a mini van . . . here is the update from the radiology appointment today.

They will be doing 15 radiation treatments. One every weekday for three weeks, they usually last 15 minutes with the actual radiation treatment lasting only about a minute or two. He will be getting the external type - which basically is an intensified, concentrated x-ray. (There is a link below to a fact sheet about radiation treaments) They will be targeting the entire lumbar and sacral area instead of just a localized area at L2. (you can refer to the previous diagram I posted to see where that is) They feel there is extensive deterioration of the bone and enough cancer growth that they need to try to kill some of the cancer to help relieve the pain Dad has and in hopes that the bone will regenerate. The unknown factor here is the rate at which the cancer will die compared to the rate at which the bone tissue will regenerate. If the cancer dies faster than the bone regenerates, there is a risk of fracture and/or loss of stability of the spine. They do not know how the radiation vs. cancer will effect the stability of his spine. At this point there really isn't anything to lose because the strength of his bones is already compromised by the invading cancer and will continue to weaken as the cancer grows. Today's appointment was for the radiology Dr. to get familiar with Dad and his situation (which I may add, the doctor told Dad he was thoroughly impressed that he looked so well, concidering the stage of his cancer), get his treatment area mapped out and to TATTOO him! They actually tattoo permenant dots on him to help line up the area each time - CAN ANYONE SAY DOT-TO-DOT . . . I'LL GET THE SHARPIE!! He also said to tell you that they took a mug shot - they said it is for his file, so they can recognize him. I left when they took him to get his tattos - disappointed as I wanted to watch. We could not be in the room when they did all the preliminary things because technically it is a radiation room. As for side effects, the Dr. said he wil probably get a skin reaction similar to a slight sunburn and maybe some minor fatigue. But said he could take himself and that it is all outpatient.

Some misc. notes - he lost a couple of pounds so I told him I'd spring for some Krispy Kremes if he wanted. They also talked of raising his patch dosage to help get a therapeutic level of pain killer in his system to help prevent the rollercoaster he is on right now. I will talk to him more this weekend to find out how the tattoos went, what the plan is and when it will start. I almost forgot one more possible side effect...he could be a little gassy.

Link to fact sheet:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/radiation

I just talked to my sister Heidi and she says there is another appointment on the 31st, she thinks to do the last "dry run" to make sure all the films they made are correct and all is good before they start.

So I think I covered everything but the 30 bodies in the minivan - my stepmom Ruth does CPR training for the Red Cross and she had to pick up the training torsos for her next class so her minivan is full of upper bodies.

That's all I have for now, there is another appointment with the Oncologist on Feb 2nd to look into a clinical trial. As of now I am planning on going to that one too. In case you haven't noticed I am a detail junkie so I like to hear all info first hand - it is my coping method.

I will post anything new after I talk to him this weekend, I know my daughter wants to go out there Sunday to visit - poor little sugar had a melt down today about missing grampa. It's hard for all of us, but I think sometimes harder for the kids because they don't yet understand that life just sucks sometimes and it isn't fair most of the time.

Well, today I want to thank you all again for the thoughts and prayers - I have to believe that they have helped him stay as well as he has for as long as he has. Please keep it up.

:)