Today I met with the radiation oncologist to go over the results of the latest CT Scan. All in the news was very good. At the point the scan was done we were 60% of the way through the radiation treatments. The tumors have shrunk much more than that. The radiation oncologist said the goal is to have the tumors completely gone when radiation is complete. What they are going to do now is increase the dosage on the smaller tumors and reduce the overall target area. Hopefully this will minimize some of the effects this is having on my throat. There were some areas that they couldn't tell if it was scar tissue or tumor so they are going to target those as well.
At some point after this is done they will use the scope up my nose to check on the nasalpharyngeal area. If there is a suspect area that the can't tell if its scar tissue or a tumor then they will do a biopsy. Once everything is completed they will continue to run test on me every few months for the first year and then on going for the rest of my life.
So the report from the doctor in charge of the air campaign was all positive. At this point there are only 12 treatments left. Two weeks from Wednesday I will be finished with this phase. Yippee! I was told to expect the sore throat to continue to get worse for up to a week after the final treatment but then start to improve over the next 6-8 weeks. The taste buds on the other hand can take up to 6 months or more.
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2 comments:
Hip Hip Hooray for making it this far in treatment and for the success in having the tumors shrink. You are doing an impressive job of hanging in with treatment. We continue to root for you in Denver.
Dawn, Bill, Eliza, Aidan
Congratulations on the good report. It sounds like the doctors are going to give you a very nice Christmas present, that of good health. Just hank in there a little bit longer.
Love,
MOM and DAD
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