Dear Parking Garage Lady

Dear Parking Garage Lady,

Thank you for being the most stressful part of getting radiation every day.  The way that you carry out your cashier duties while simultaneously remaining oblivious to the customer is something that should be taught in every business school.  I can sympathize with the fact the you are forced to sit in 4'x5' box from 3am to 11am with nothing to do but read a book.  We wrote a poem for you today I apologize if does not rhyme sometimes.   It is titled 6 dimes, 2 nickels, and 5 pennies.

Why are you so grouchy?
Did you fall down and get an ouchie?
The sign says $1 and $5 appreciated yet you demand exact change.
 I'm sorry I made you put your book down.
You never smile so I never know if there is a tooth in your parking booth!


Sincerely,
Kim and Russell and sometimes Jacob

ps. Where do you park when you come to work?

Two weeks to go....

First off welcome to my new readers.  Update on my hair it is getting patchy especially on the left side.  I'm 90% sure that I will just cut it all off soon.  I was thinking about going to a beauty school and just walk in ask for a simple hair cut.  Then laugh as the beauty school student tries to figure out why my hair is coming out it clumps.  That's probably too cruel to do though.

UPDATE-I went ahead and did it.  Steven the barber showed up with his clippers and finished what the radiation couldn't.

and then.....

I get my turn with the Wahl's

I do believe I have found my calling.....

14 down, 14 remaining

I don't know what has been happening to my blog posts for the past week.  I blame Google for losing them;)  So here is what has been going on in the last few days at MUSC and beyond.  Suddenly losing hair at rapid pace.  I can pull out clumps of hair and I had to vacuum my pillow and bed.  Had some strange muscle spasms in my right leg and stomach.  Dr. Buddy didn't seem to think it was a seizure.   The weakness and lack of coordination in my right leg and arm hasn't gotten any worse.  So I do not have to go on any steroids for now.    There have been a few tours given of the radiation therapy area while I'm getting my treatments.  I hope the "tourists" have enjoyed their visits.  In my free time I mostly take naps and make strawberry jam.  We are up to 28 jars of strawberry freezer jam.  Made one batch with lots of sugar and one with half sugar and half Splenda  (fyi Splenda is categorized as "crap" according to Paul the Nutritionist at MUSC).


Finally saw this kid in Moes doing his Benny Hill song dance...

Playing catch up with the blog

Sorry, I have been remiss with my blog updates. After seven treatments I still don't have very many side effects. Only some tiredness, (yet I don't sleep well) my scalp itches like crazy sometimes, and my throat itches when I wake up. No hair loss yet. The treatments are exactly the same each day with the exception of the music playing the room where they do the radiation. I look forward to finding out what songs will be playing when I'm getting the treatments. So here is the countdown of the songs for the last week:

Friday, 4/9 - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Night Moves

Monday, 4/12 - Only You by The Platters and The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand

Tuesday 4/13 was the worst of John Mayer. Didn't recognize the songs, but I knew it was you John.

Wed. 4/14 - Bob Marley's greatest hits

Thurs. 4/15 - Backfield in Motion by Mel & Tim? I know the song, but I've never heard of Tim or Mel.

Friday 4/16 The Beatles - Let it Be and Taylor Swift - Our Song

Ending of the Cliffhanger

=

Radiation - Day #1

Had my first actual radiation treatment today. Everything went according to plans. The three therapists should run the government or deliver pizzas. Like clockwork, they are right on time with everything. The actual treatment lasted about 10 minutes. The machine is very quiet except for an occasional beep. There was a sizzling sound I heard when they pinpoint the radiation beams in the exact spot. I think the sizzling sounds are for effect, but really what do I know?

Song playing during the treatment= No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley. Does every song they play have "woman" in the title? I want something more manly tomorrow.


The dress code is shirts without collars. I am on a mission to wear each of my Gamecock tshirts only one time, but still wear a Gamecock shirt to every treatment. I think that I will be able to accomplish this, if not I will go with Bridge Run shirts.


Coming tomorrow....the tragic story of when the gummy vitamins fell asleep inside of a hot car.

Undressed rehearsal

Had my radiation treatment practice today. It took longer to get through the road detours at MUSC than the actual treatment lasted. After maybe two minutes in the waiting room and about 30 seconds of chit chat I was masked up and laying under the radiation equipment. This is the kind efficiency I've been looking for in the medical community. The actual equipment did not make any noise and other than the song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman it was completely quiet. There were some flashes of light and the smell of a Sharpie, but other than that the procedure was painless. After I took my mask off one of the techs said I had a honeycomb face. I looked kind of like some reptile alien from the mask pressing on my face with so much pressure. So every Monday-Friday at 10:15am I get to visit room 165 @ MUSC.

Honeycomb face.....

Finally heard from Lacy @ Dr. Jenrette's office today. They want me to come in this Thursday for a final "dry run" for the radiation treatments. "Dry run" = Radiation therapy for brain tumor treatment uses high-energy beams to destroy tumor cells. In an effort to make sure that the beam is directly over the tumor area, radiation specialists will often call for a planning session called a "simulation" in advance of the real treatment. This is used to map out the exact treatment area.

Then she tells me they want to start the actual radiation treatments on Monday??? I should have anticipated them giving me six days notice after all this has been ongoing for almost two months. Now they want to rush me. We ended up "negotiating" a start date of next Thursday, April 8th. Twenty-eight treatments over forty days.

In other news I completed the Cooper River Bridge Run and Dodge Baby Strollers in 1:08:47. Not my best time, but not my worst.

Paper..Car..Chair

Remember these three words ...paper, car, chair. There will be a pop quiz later. On Friday (3/19) I had a marathon day of doctor appointments and mask fittings. I got to MUSC about ten minutes late, but they are always at least 30 minutes late. So in my mind I was still early. In the waiting room at the Cooper Pavilion there are 12 people waiting with appointments between 10am-11am. Along comes a guy chained to a wheelchair with two sheriffs deputies escorting him and he goes straight in to see a doctor. No waiting, no forms. Now I understand Universal Health Care.

I finally get called to test my vitals. BP 130/67. Weight was 157.8 better than last time and not so anorixously close to the 140's. Get in to see Dr. Giglio. He said he needed to do a quick exam before the blood work. Blood work? I didn't expect that, but I'm always good for a vial of blood. But eight vials was ridiculous. I told the nurse my arm wouldn't give that much blood. By vial #5 she understood what I was talking about. So she had to stick my other arm to get the last three vials. Then back up to Dr. Giglio to finish the exam. Which was basically some small talk and then remember the three words that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Without looking, do you remember what the three words were? I did. I was so proud.

Next up was the making of the radiation mask. The purpose of the mask is to more accurately determine where to target the radiation beams. It started with making a mold of the back of my head. Sort of felt like laying in Play Doh. Then they made a custom mouth guard. It was sort of like the mouth guard football players wear. Mouth guard technology has come a long way since I played for the Brentwood Chargers football team in 5th grade. Then came the main event, the making of the mask. It looked like a sheet of that shelf liner. The therapists pulled and stretched the warm mesh material over my face. Then they applied cold rags which made the mask hard. After some more adjustments and some time in the CT machine I was finished with that part. Next up was the radiation Dr with some more forms for me to sign. Three weeks ago the forms I signed said possible effects of radiation were possible weakness, possible nausea, possible hair loss. Now it is you will have weakness, you will lose some hair, you may go blind (but not likely), you may get another tumor from the radiation (but not likely), etc. This is getting a little more serious now. Next up was the plastic surgeon. Once he found out my story he seemed really interested in my situation. Probably because I was not a typical 70 year old trying to look 20. I should hear soon about the randomization and my start date for radiation.

Next up was 48 hours of moving furniture in the rain, including the couch that mysteriously grew over the past few years. Nothing that some Jig-A-Loo couldn't handle. Thanks to S, D, R, K and J for their help.

I get to make a mask and get randomized

Yesterday, Dr. Jenrette's nurse called and setup some times on Friday to have a mask made and get "randomized". I think "randomized" is a medical term for flipping a coin.
I'm meeting with Dr. Giglio, but I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe he flips the coin? Then Dr. Jenrette's staff to get setup for the radiation treatments. Apparently hitting good brain tissue with radiation is bad. The after that I will go to the plastic surgeon Dr. Haggerty. In the event that my hair falls out from the radiation I'd like my scar from the surgery to look its best.

Went to see the Bodies exhibit in Atlanta. It is basically a display of actual bodies and body parts. It was really cool and you should check it out if you are in Atlanta in the near future. I will not want to eat baked ham for a long time after seeing a human body without all of its skin. Also saw the famous Princess Diana 25' long wedding dress. It was not a part of the Bodies exhibit though.

Latest and Greatest

What? Timmy Tumor Blog
Where? Charleston, Florence, I95, I26, Hollings Cancer Center @ MUSC
When? Now
Why? Because I'm getting confused about who I've told how I feel, how the dr visit went, when the next dr appointment is, how I will feel, and the biggest question -if I will lose my hair?

Yesterday I finally heard from the study coordinator at MUSC. He said the Mayo Clinic had finished their analysis of the tumor sample and I am now completely eligible for the study (Phase III Study of Radiation Therapy with or without Temozolomide for Symptomatic or Progressive Low-Grade Gliomas).

The next step will be to meet on March 19 with my Neuro-Oncologist (Dr. Giglio), and the Radiation Oncologist (Dr. "Buddy" Jenrette). There is something comforting about having someone named "Buddy" in charge of shooting xray beams at my brain. We should be setting up a schedule for the radiation treatments. I'd like to start around the middle of April. That would buy me time to do the Cooper River Bridge Run and a few other things I had planned.