First day of radiation tomorrow...
Hi all,
Mixed emotions on the eve of Pat's first radiaition treatment. We are feeling prepared for what is to come, but still a bit daunted about what he will be going through...Feeling scared, while at the same time feeling excited (excited?!?!? this feels so wrong to say, but I think you all understand what I mean) to start the fight.
We went shopping together over the weekend and got the last 'must have' on our list for during treatment. We have packed his bag to carry with him to work so that everything he needs is at his fingertips. We are as ready as possible I guess. And now...here's to a really, really fast six weeks...
Jamie
Comments
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I can relate to the 'excited'
I can relate to the 'excited' statement. It felt like such a relief when the treatment started, as if we were handing off the whole enchilada to the professionals. I finally felt like I could take a deep breath and let it out.
Hang on for the ride of your life. It's a wild an crazy one
, filled with ups and downs, but you'll both get through it. 
And yes, here's to a really, really fast six weeks.
God Bless.
Ruben and (Me) Jude
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jamie, i'm glad the fight is
jamie, i'm glad the fight is starting so it can b over!! i pray it is a very quick 6 wks. keep us posted and come here as needed. can't wait to hear you ring the bell!
God bless,
dj
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Yep!
I remember feeling the same way before my husband started his treatment- excited we were finally starting so we could get it done. Lots of thoughts and prayers coming your way! Don't forget to check in- this site was a lifesaver for us !
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Excited is the perfect word....
that's the one I used when I finally got to get in there and do some fighting of my own.
My experience in treatment was that it was much harder on my hubby and my sisters than it was for me. I'm sure I looked like hell, and was much more reserved than my normal self so they probably thought I was more miserable than I felt I was. I'll toast to the "really really fast 6 weeks", too!!
p
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Go Well
Great to be kicking it all off and getting into the treatment. I too hope the 6 weeks pass in a flash! I am sure you have been told and read here, hydrate, eat, hydrate, eat, hydrate over and over. It really does help. Stay strong and postive vibes from Singapore
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Thank you all
for the positive thoughts! We are 'up and at 'em here, and will be leaving shortly. BUT, before hitting the road, we took a few minutes to read all of the positive thoughts and prayers that are being sent our way. That is definitely a nice way to get started
Thank you all!You can bet I will be back posting and checking in...this site has already proven invaluable to us!! We are soooo looking forward to getting to the other side, and knowing that today we are one step closer to 'ringing the bell'!
Jamie
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j4mie said:
Thank you all
for the positive thoughts! We are 'up and at 'em here, and will be leaving shortly. BUT, before hitting the road, we took a few minutes to read all of the positive thoughts and prayers that are being sent our way. That is definitely a nice way to get started
Thank you all!You can bet I will be back posting and checking in...this site has already proven invaluable to us!! We are soooo looking forward to getting to the other side, and knowing that today we are one step closer to 'ringing the bell'!
Jamie
It was exciting for me to start and mark each day off the calendar
Wishing him (and you) the best...you sound very prepared to begin the journey. Keep lots of water going in him...it will help overall! Good luck, prayers going up! 0 -
Hang in there
Hang in there Jamie. Everyone here can share tips and ideas with you to make it go easier. I would recommend clicking on the section "mouth sores" and reading some of those posts. Also, Phrannie51 has some very good information if you look at some of her posts. Good luck!
-Dave
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I keep checking in
to see how the first day went...
p
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so far, so good...phrannie51 said:I keep checking in
to see how the first day went...
p
Thanks for checking in P! First day was nothing spactacular...which we knew would be the case. Twenty minutes and he was done. Day 1, over! Yay!
Feeling really low right now though...
Two nights before he was to start radiation, he had a tooth crack. So, on our 'test run' day we told the radiation oncology team, and they told us to get in to the dentist and see what she said about it. If it needed to be extracted, we would have to put off rads another week to ten days. We got him in to the dentist that day to see if it would need to be extracted. Dentist said no extraction necessary, and put a temporary crown in that she said would get him through radiation and until he healed enough to get a root canal...so, we started radiation as planned yesterday. Today, I had called our nurse about a different question and she asked what ever happened at the dentist...Anyway, to make a long story short, our radiation nurse said, 'Does the dentist understand that it could be a good six months, maybe more, until he feels up to having any mouth work done?' Being that it is a dentist that they had recommended, we assumed that she (dentist) understood the 'ins and outs' of radiation to the head and neck area...appearantly not. So, extremely frustrated, dissapointed, mad at myself for letting this happen (feel like I/we should have questioned her...) and scared right now that we have already used up one radiation treatment, and now may have to 'pause' to get dental work done...AND, we are running out of the 'safe' six to eight week time frame of starting rads after surgery...
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It won't make any noticablej4mie said:so far, so good...
Thanks for checking in P! First day was nothing spactacular...which we knew would be the case. Twenty minutes and he was done. Day 1, over! Yay!
Feeling really low right now though...
Two nights before he was to start radiation, he had a tooth crack. So, on our 'test run' day we told the radiation oncology team, and they told us to get in to the dentist and see what she said about it. If it needed to be extracted, we would have to put off rads another week to ten days. We got him in to the dentist that day to see if it would need to be extracted. Dentist said no extraction necessary, and put a temporary crown in that she said would get him through radiation and until he healed enough to get a root canal...so, we started radiation as planned yesterday. Today, I had called our nurse about a different question and she asked what ever happened at the dentist...Anyway, to make a long story short, our radiation nurse said, 'Does the dentist understand that it could be a good six months, maybe more, until he feels up to having any mouth work done?' Being that it is a dentist that they had recommended, we assumed that she (dentist) understood the 'ins and outs' of radiation to the head and neck area...appearantly not. So, extremely frustrated, dissapointed, mad at myself for letting this happen (feel like I/we should have questioned her...) and scared right now that we have already used up one radiation treatment, and now may have to 'pause' to get dental work done...AND, we are running out of the 'safe' six to eight week time frame of starting rads after surgery...
difference if he ends up having to wait a week or so to go back into rads.....I had to wait 10 extra days from my original start date because the Dr. nicked my lung putting in my port.....I allso had a 4 day break in the middle of treatment when the rad machine broke down....Even tho he's might already had one rad treatment, the rad doc might tack another one on at the end of rads if they decide to take out the tooth. Truely, you can be grateful it happened at the very start and not 2 or 3 weeks in....
This is not something to get worried about....disappointing, sure.....but in the big picture it is a minor blip.
Hugs.
p
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So, here's what happened next...phrannie51 said:It won't make any noticable
difference if he ends up having to wait a week or so to go back into rads.....I had to wait 10 extra days from my original start date because the Dr. nicked my lung putting in my port.....I allso had a 4 day break in the middle of treatment when the rad machine broke down....Even tho he's might already had one rad treatment, the rad doc might tack another one on at the end of rads if they decide to take out the tooth. Truely, you can be grateful it happened at the very start and not 2 or 3 weeks in....
This is not something to get worried about....disappointing, sure.....but in the big picture it is a minor blip.
Hugs.
p
The Dr. and Dentist conferred, and decided that they are going to try to get him through all of his sessions. After speaking to each other, they are pretty secure in moving forward, and secure in the fact that he will have adequate time to heal before needing to move forward with the root canal. He has been told to be extra, EXTRA dillegent about oral care and cleaning and to stick to softer type foods, which, in a short time shouldn't be much of an issue anyway. I'm happy we are going to keep going, and so is Pat...he seemed so 'deflated' yesterday when there was a chance of having to start all over again. Thank you for your response...if by chance we do need to stop in the middle I won't be quite so anxiety ridden about it. For now, we are going to 'keep on truckin'...
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So glad...j4mie said:So, here's what happened next...
The Dr. and Dentist conferred, and decided that they are going to try to get him through all of his sessions. After speaking to each other, they are pretty secure in moving forward, and secure in the fact that he will have adequate time to heal before needing to move forward with the root canal. He has been told to be extra, EXTRA dillegent about oral care and cleaning and to stick to softer type foods, which, in a short time shouldn't be much of an issue anyway. I'm happy we are going to keep going, and so is Pat...he seemed so 'deflated' yesterday when there was a chance of having to start all over again. Thank you for your response...if by chance we do need to stop in the middle I won't be quite so anxiety ridden about it. For now, we are going to 'keep on truckin'...
he's able to continue! I had a root canal and extraction done after my rads were over. They both have been fine. My onc wouldn't give my dentist the time of day, so I had to get his associate to help me, and get my oral surgeon involved.
Keep us posted on how he's doing
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Will be thinking of you bothj4mie said:So, here's what happened next...
The Dr. and Dentist conferred, and decided that they are going to try to get him through all of his sessions. After speaking to each other, they are pretty secure in moving forward, and secure in the fact that he will have adequate time to heal before needing to move forward with the root canal. He has been told to be extra, EXTRA dillegent about oral care and cleaning and to stick to softer type foods, which, in a short time shouldn't be much of an issue anyway. I'm happy we are going to keep going, and so is Pat...he seemed so 'deflated' yesterday when there was a chance of having to start all over again. Thank you for your response...if by chance we do need to stop in the middle I won't be quite so anxiety ridden about it. For now, we are going to 'keep on truckin'...
Hope your both able to relax a little this weekend. I will be lifting you up as your week begins....I always like to say "your one day closer to being done"! Know your not alone. Hope everything goes as planned! SMOOTH...keep us posted.
Christie
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