HOW MUCH RADIATION?

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hopper52
hopper52 Member Posts: 108
in Esophageal Cancer #1
And yet, another question for my oh-so-knowledgeable friends on this site.

I start my Chemo/Radiation journey on Monday, May 23rd. I saw in the paper today they've updated the Star Wars ride over at Disney. I'll bet it won't even compare to this ride that I'm about to embark on.

My question........I was told when they did my radiation simulation I was being scheduled for 23 rounds of radiation. The oncologist told me it would be 5 weeks. I just went to the patient portal to print out my schedule and there's actually 32 rounds scheduled. From the postings here it looks like 28 sessions seem to be about the norm. I thought I had read something here earlier about a "maximum" number of radiation sessions you can be exposed to. I think it's probably okay but was curious if it's something I need to ask the oncologist.

Sherri........I was reading over some of your older postings and found a list of foods that worked. Printed a copy and will begin stocking up. That's greatly appreciated. I'm having more and more difficulty swallowing but am trying to keep the calorie count and protein count up. It amazes me that what I can and cannot eat. Pizza.....no, Enchaladas.....no problem as long as I have small bites (Ate 3 of them yesterday) Spaghetti and meat sauce is good bit I think it'll be awhile until I can enjoy a steak.
I think what surprised me the most is watermelon.......it goes down (eventually) but it's a chore, which is weird because the texture is such I wouldn't think it to be a problem. Oh well, learn as I go along, huh?

Despite the trepidation of starting, it's time to get the show on the road......seems like ages since April 7th when they found the EC.

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
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  • hopper52
    hopper52 Member Posts: 108
    #3
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    unknown said:

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    THANKS
    Yes, they've "marked" me with 3 "tatoos" on the exterior and a (gold) marker on the tumor itself. [I told them I wanted the esophagus after removal......do they realize what the price of gold is?] So it's targeted radiation.

    I'm also having carboplatin but am having Taxol rather than 5FU since I couldn't have a port installed. Two rounds....one on the 1st day and the second 3 weeks later.

    After that it should be on to surgery after a short recovery period.

    Thanks again for your input
  • Unknown
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    #4
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    hopper52 said:

    THANKS
    Yes, they've "marked" me with 3 "tatoos" on the exterior and a (gold) marker on the tumor itself. [I told them I wanted the esophagus after removal......do they realize what the price of gold is?] So it's targeted radiation.

    I'm also having carboplatin but am having Taxol rather than 5FU since I couldn't have a port installed. Two rounds....one on the 1st day and the second 3 weeks later.

    After that it should be on to surgery after a short recovery period.

    Thanks again for your input

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

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