Maybe I'll get some sort of super powers!

On Friday, Maria and I met with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Schultz, to discuss the plans for radiation treatment after I'm done with chemotherapy. We spent a good deal of time with Dr. Wood, a resident, first. He explained much of the radiation process, risks and benefits. Dr. Schultz came in afterwards, reiterated some of what Dr. Wood said, and answered any other questions we had.

I really was hoping I could skip radiation altogether. Even though people can be treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma with chemotherapy only, years of data has proven that a combination of chemo followed by radiation therapy has the highest success rate for curing this cancer.

Dr. Wood explained that there is a possibility of me getting a different cancer in the specific areas they radiate, but that chance is 1/4 of 1% per year. So extremely low, although because I'm "young," the longer I live the more chance of that happening later on as those quarter percents add up. (I put the word "young" in quotes, because I'm 31 and I sure don't feel young anymore.) I asked Dr. Wood why would I need radiation if the chemotherapy ends up completely getting rid of the cancer. This is one of those cases where the benefits outweigh the risks. The risk of having the Hodgkin's come back if I don't have radiation is much higher than the risk of getting a new cancer from the radiation.

The radiation used for my specific situation will be milder than people with other types of cancer. I'm pretty sure the phrase "well tolerated" came up. I would receive treatments 5 days a week, with the actual radiation portion of each appointment lasting only minutes. Dr. Schultz said I would receive the treatments for 3 to 3 1/2 weeks total. The most common side effects I may experience would be some pinkness to the skin, like a light sunburn; loss of hair on the back of my head and on my neck; and sore throat. Dr. Wood mentioned that the top of my lung may be in the area that is radiated, so I could develop a cough for a time. These should all go away within a few weeks of the treatments ending. Long term, I will need to have my thyroid function checked and could end up on thyroid medication if the radiation affects it. Due to the thyroid's location in the neck, it can't be avoided completely.

As part of the preparation process, I will have a mold made of my face and neck. This will be used to ensure I am in the exact same position at every treatment. They will also do a CT scan to figure out where everything is inside my neck. They will then angle the radiation to avoid important things, such as my spinal cord. When I go for radiation each day, I would receive two doses, one coming at me from the front and one from the back. Each dose would last about a minute and a half. Apparently it seems similar to getting an x-ray, so I won't even know when exactly it's happening.

Dr. Wood said that people can and do work while receiving radiation treatment, so I should be able to accept a job offer, even one where I'm talking on the phone all day, should I find one.

Overall, I feel more comfortable about getting the radiation treatments. I still would rather not have it done, but I told myself I would do whatever needed to get rid of this cancer and not have it come back. This is what is needed to accomplish that.