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.