We went to see the radiation oncologist today. She is recommending 6 1/2 weeks of daily treatments. She's going to talk to the medical oncologist, and they will decide whether to do chemotherapy along with radiation or do it after radiation.
Tomorrow we go in so they can make a frame for his head - kind of like a soft cast - which will be used to keep his head immobile for the treatments. They will also do a CT scan tomorrow. Then the treatments will begin on Thursday.
I had planned to come in to work tomorrow (Wednesday) but it doesn't look like I'll make it in the morning anyway. If I can, I'll try to come in the afternoon. Thursday will be a treatment and also a visit to the neurosurgeon to take out the biopsy stitches. That appointment is 12:30 and we usually have to wait forever to see him, so I don't imagine I'll get in at all on Thursday.
I could have somebody else take Paul to see the neurosurgeon, but I prefer to go along because he's been real good about explaining things to us and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this whole business. The radiation oncologist said that if the neurosurgeon's in the hospital tomorrow while Paul's there, they might get him to come and take out the stitches then. If they do that, then I can come in on Thursday.
We don't know yet what time the treatments will be, but they will be the same time each day, and hopefully they will be early morning or late afternoon. Once Paul's into the swing of things, and as long as he's still feeling basically ok, I'll try to line up friends and neighbors (and Karen) to drive him to the hospital so I can put in full days.
Continue to: Aug. 5, 1997
Return to: Diary of a Brain Tumor Patient's Wife
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Created: May 2, 1999
Latest revision: July 18, 2010