October 19, 2004
Stupid? Maybe. But, after five days of hiccups I think I’m entitled to stupid. Oh, yeah, and a cold, too!
Today is a bit of a shed-water event as I graduate into Phase II of my radiation treatments. Until now the IMRT radiation technique has distributed the radiation relatively evenly among all the tissues in my neck region while avoiding the salivary glands and the spine. From now on the technique will focus most of the energy into the tumor, itself . the killer punch as it were. I’m told it won’t seem much different to me.
Other than the hiccups and the cold (I think they’re related) things are progressing pretty much as predicted. The skin, in areas of my neck, is breaking down, creating a sort-of continuously reforming scab. A couple of times a day Sandy sprays the area with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water and then applies Aquaphor ointment which keeps the whole area super-moisturized and soft. As a result, there is little pain.
Not so for the inside of my throat! The pain-med patch and pain-med liquid keep the background pain to a minimum and, really, it’s not much of a problem at all. However, post nasal drip from the cold and hiccups are a bit more acute and hurt pretty badly. On top of that, I started running a low-grade fever so the doctor was worried about pneumonia, etc. and had a series of blood work and x-rays done.
Result: I’m ok, but I’d better take a huge antibiotic pill every day just in case. Now, folks, I can barely stand a sip of water at this point much less a horse pill. So I’ve now graduated to grinding up my meds and injecting them directly into my stomach. Ahhhh, much better!
The saga continues but the end is in sight with only 13 days to go until my 35th treatment!
Thank you all for your love and your support!
Bill Stine