Jennifer Marie J. Yang, MD

August 9, 2022

Update. It is 8 days post-chemotherapy; nausea is almost gone and fatigue is slowly resolving. Still need to pace myself with eating and drinking but definitely better.

This morning we visited the radiation oncologist for an initial consultation. Radiation therapy happens daily, Monday through Friday. The patient gets weekends off.

We discussed options (wow, I didn’t know there were options!) for radiation therapy which she explained well. Basically the choice came down to: (1) conventional 6-week course of treatment with a lower daily dose and shorter session time of 20-25 minutes, vs. (2) shorter 3-week course with a higher daily dose and longer session time of 30-35 minutes. Both courses have similar outcomes and effects, although of course the higher daily dose exposes you to more radiation in that one go. Let’s get this over with in 3 weeks… sounds good to me!

We talked about proceeding with the 3-week course, and the side effects to the skin, lungs, heart, blood and blood vessels. Sigh. So many things to watch out for! Doreen here is educating herself about things we can do to reduce skin irritation and breakdown from the radiation.

The earliest I can start radiation therapy is 4 weeks after the final chemotherapy session (August 1st). This window of time gives my body time to rest; more specifically, for my bone marrow to recover and make enough red blood cells. This prevents anemia and makes sure that there are enough blood to carry oxygen around the body.

However, before radiation therapy can happen, I have to undergo a planning and simulation session with a CT scan. At that time, the radiation oncologist and the medical physicist will map out the anatomic location and radiation dosing for the course of treatment. I’m waiting to hear from them regarding the schedule for this session.

And that, folks, is the summary of the next step in treatment! Part of me wants to get it over with, while another part of me is wary of the possible side effects and complications. But here we are… it’s necessary, we’ll roll with it and deal with whatever happens day by day.