Start tomorrow...didn't see it coming...

Will be thinking of you
Hope all goes well! Keep us posted.

Glenna M said:

My best to both of you
I wish you both the best as Mark starts his treatment. I had 35 rads and cisplatin 2 days a week in three week cycles. It is very doable, it's tough but you will make it through this.

Stay strong and stay in touch, Glenna

All my best
My thought's & prayer's are with you both!

Hi Kimba

Good luck on getting started, like you said start early finish early. The first few weeks of radiation will be easy it is when you get into the 3rd and 4th weeks that things start to get ruff and the last weeks #5 & 6 you are just looking for the finish line so it can all be over. The Chemo will make it feel a lot worse and he will have some good and bad days. Most of the affects will start to ware off a few weeks after the treatment stops and things will slowly start to improve each day after. He will need a lot of help and support so hang in there you are both in for a ruff ride, but remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I don’t know how you feel about prayer, but if you don’t mind I would like to keep you both in my prayers.

Kimba1505 said:

Prayers are good
It is all good...prayer, energy, positive thoughts. I like the thought that you all are at the finish line cheering us on. Like any race, it is harder at the end, that is where you need to push through, push the hardest, right? I know you will all be there. Thank you for that. All of your messages make me better for Mark. We will finish strong.
Miccmill, my best to you and your husband as he starts on Friday. I PM with another board member whose husband is just finishing up this week. I will PM you.
Going to "Surviving the Mask" next. Oh, also picked up the L-glutatmine, Vitamin C, and top notch aloe yesterday. Baking soda and salt at the ready.
Kim

Good Luck
Will be thinking of you and Mark. He can do this. I was a 33 rad and 3 cisplatin/5FU guy. I was a fan of the aloe sunburn lotion with the lidocaine in it. When my neck got really fried it especially helped at bedtime. Stings when applied but within 10-15 seconds all is good. Can't emphasize enough, keep him drinking/sipping through all of this. As my Onco put it, "Whatever you do, don't lose your swallow".

Mike

Kimba1505 said:

Prayers are good
It is all good...prayer, energy, positive thoughts. I like the thought that you all are at the finish line cheering us on. Like any race, it is harder at the end, that is where you need to push through, push the hardest, right? I know you will all be there. Thank you for that. All of your messages make me better for Mark. We will finish strong.
Miccmill, my best to you and your husband as he starts on Friday. I PM with another board member whose husband is just finishing up this week. I will PM you.
Going to "Surviving the Mask" next. Oh, also picked up the L-glutatmine, Vitamin C, and top notch aloe yesterday. Baking soda and salt at the ready.
Kim

Where have you been all of my life ??.......LOL !!
Good gosh, you are on the ball. And I thought my wife had a handle on all this pre-treatment stuff. Actually, she did.....it's at the half way point and beyond is where things get somewhat dysfunctional. And Oh, I just remembered. Today is my anniversary of last cancer treatment. Last year..June, 7th....completed my last radiation and chemotherapy treatment (that last bag of Cisplatin I think is the one that really did me in). Think I'll go out to lunch and have a huge Rueben sandwich, and lots of water to wash it down.

Larry

Kimba
Best of luck to you and especially Mark. he's having the same treatment as I had. I wrote about the experience on my weblog and when I became to tired, depressed, sick to write, my wife wrote in my place. If you're interested in what we went through only since feb 17 (the day I started treatment) you can visit http://www.justwrite.us and scroll all the way to the bottom for day 0 and onward.

I would also recommend reading soccarfreaks blog. It is very detailed, funny, poignant, and full of information. You can find it at http://csn.cancer.org/user/72176.

Keep posting here and let all of us help you and Mark through this difficult journey.

Best,

Mick

CajunEagle said:

Where have you been all of my life ??.......LOL !!
Good gosh, you are on the ball. And I thought my wife had a handle on all this pre-treatment stuff. Actually, she did.....it's at the half way point and beyond is where things get somewhat dysfunctional. And Oh, I just remembered. Today is my anniversary of last cancer treatment. Last year..June, 7th....completed my last radiation and chemotherapy treatment (that last bag of Cisplatin I think is the one that really did me in). Think I'll go out to lunch and have a huge Rueben sandwich, and lots of water to wash it down.

Larry

New Photo
Like the new photo Larry......is that your home away from home..LOL.

Thumbs up on the Rueben, almost lunch here also....

~JG

MarineE5 said:

As the others stated
Kim and Mark,

As everyone stated above, you both are included in my Prayers. You both are now in phase 2 of all of this. Phase 3 is the recovery.

My Best to Both of You and Everyone Here

And there off!
You will do just fine. 39 Rads and the same Cisplatin regime here. Doable and you're much better prepared than I was.

Skiffin16 said:

Phases...
LOL, only another Marine can truely appreciate the reference to phases.....although, in the USMC, I'm not sure which was worse, phase one or phase two....definitely phase three being the best.

JG

Skiffin16 : )
Yes, Skiffin, you are right, the 3 phases we had to go through to become a Basic Marine was really a test. In another post at another site, I referenced the similarity of Marine Boot Camp and IRT ( Infantry Regiment Training ) and what we go thru as Cancer Patients.

How closely similar they both are. As you mentioned, in Boot Camp, phase 1 and 2 were pretty much the same. but as we got through the first 2, the 3rd phase was doable.

All of us here that have gone through all 3 phases of cancer, can only hope and Pray that the newer patients do not have extreme discomfort while going through all this.

But much like Boot Camp, although there is allot of physical parts of it, we know that a big part of it is mental. We really have to have a positive can do mindset.

My Best to Everyone Here