CyberKnife #1 - A Trip Report

First CyberKnife appointment... Complete!

Truthfully, it wasn't that bad. The weirdest part is having this on your face:

Not mine, just an example!

This mask is tight and I'm not saying "Yo, this mask is TIGHT!" as in that it's cool. No, you will have little "grill marks" across your face for a while after it comes off. After an hour, it's kind of uncomfortable. The mask is screwed to the table, and you cannot move your face or head at all. They also made me a nice little cushion for the back of my head, so that helped. 

As of right now (about 1.5 hours post-radiation) I am tired. Walking up the stairs to my office afterwards was kind of tiring. I feel a little spaced out and dizzy if I stand up too much - but pretty much okay. 

I think I'll probably sleep well tonight, and not feel like doing a whole lot. I was able to eat when I got back to the office (spoiler alert: avocado was involved) and I'm not really nauseated at this point. I was told side effects can crop up in a day or so, but we'll see. 

The mixtape we made to listen to actually didn't work - it stopped playing after the second track... So I had to listen to some horrible opera - which was barely distinguishable over the buzz of the machine anyway. The CyberKnife was a little interesting, the "arm" of the machine moves around as it targets the various tumors. 

On that note, the detailed scans that they performed last week did find additional tumors. The initial scans last month found a total of four - one in the mid-brain (brain stem). The MRI/CT that they did last week takes finer slices (1mm, I think?) and they've located a total of 10. The doctor assured this does not mean the cancer has progressed further, but that the detailed scan was needed to make sure they are able to target EVERYTHING. I'm glad they're so thorough. 

More happy news, no weight gain from steroids. Avocados are the way and the light. Now though? I'm really jonesin' for strawberries. Who has strawberries? Teleport me some?

That's it for now! Go eat an avocado!

Roid Rage

Out of all the medicines I've had to take since I was diagnosed with cancer, I am at my wit's end with one in particular. I feel like a child whining about this, but the steroid I'm on (Dexamethasone) really sucks. There's a laundry list of side effects, the worst (for me) being acid reflux. When I was not on the study drug, I was told I could take Pepcid/Nexium or other things like that. Now that I'm back on the study, drugs like those are a no-go. I have to rely on Tums or some other chewable stuff that doesn't really work. I wake up at least twice a week with reflux so bad I can't get back to bed for at least an hour.

Now, I'm broken out like a leper - and I've plastered myself in calamine all over my shoulders and neck. Yes, this is also evidently a side effect. I hate it. I keep reminding myself that I had horrible headaches before I started this medicine, that in an evening they went away and I slept peacefully - but seriously? There's no end. I looked at one side effect list, and I basically have all of the "minor" side effects. Come on.

In better news, the port area seems to be healing. There's some tenderness, part of me thinks there's a little bit of suture stuck in there, but overall it's not terribly bad. I can feel it "settling" (if that makes any sense) and that's a little surreal.

It's been very hot here. We put the air conditioner in the window and now I don't want to leave the bedroom. That's fair, right?

Oh and if you were wondering, I'm still addicted to avocado. Maybe that's a side effect. Probably. I'll enjoy this sweet romance while it lasts.