[hutchibk]

Joan - a quick summary of my five days of IMRT... for your enjoyment.

Two days prior to IMRT - went in to have immobilization mask made... which is done by laying on the treatment table. A piece of plastic mesh framed on the right and left edges is dipped in warm water to soften it. They shake off all of the excess water and then lay the mesh over the head/face and shoulders, and form it to fit your face and upper shoulder area. They snap it into place on the table while it is hardening. It hardens in a matter of about 5-10 minutes. While it is hardening, they can pull it away a little from your nose and mouth and neck, allowing a little more room in those areas for flaring of nostrils, opening of lips, easier swallowing, etc - all things that can help alleviate feelings of claustrophobia during the process. Being able to get occasional un-constricted deep breaths and big swallows was what made my mask so tolerable.

(My appts were at 1pm every day for 5 days. I went on Wed, Thu, Fri, had Sat/Sun off, and finished on Mon, Tue. We opted not to start with decadron, but to see how I did without steroid. If it seemed that I needed it, he would give it to me on one of the subsequent days.)

Day 1 - I walked in to get on the table and there was confetti all over the floor - they had just had a 'final treatment celebration'. That was cool. I love my doc and the staff. It is such an uplifting place. Doesn't feel medical at all... It went really well, in the moment, LOL. I laid snapped onto the table in my pre-formed immobilization mask. The robot machine rotated around my head and shot 19 angled beams into 5 spots on my head. Wow. Technology is amazing. It took about 15 minutes and I was outta there. I definitely got a little bit of a sinusy, salty flavor in my nose and the back of my throat a couple of times during the treatment. Wonder what caused that? Within moments of getting off the table, I could tell that my sensitive little brain was feeling a little beat up... I was foggy. It was weird. Not bad, just weird. I felt just an itty bit loopy (-ier than normal)... About 3 hours after, I started to feel a little limp and lazy. By evening, I had about 5 pretty mean little headaches going all at the same time. And I was just physically worn out. Took some motrin and laid down for a while. The motrin worked well and knocked back the headaches. I woke up in the evening feeling kinda like I felt on day 3 or 4 after Taxol/Carbo.

Day 2 - was so much better. Not nearly as foggy and only nagging mild head pressure (not ache). It's just so weird that by the end of the day, I still felt kinda like I did at around day four after Taxol/Carbo. You know, a little shriveled and dehydrated, and not nauseous but just a tad queasy in the esophagus area, not the tummy. It's hard to explain, but it's a milder version of that feeling. It turns out that it triggered the nausea center in the brain. I talked to the doc today and he told me the taste I get is from something on the right side of the brain... and he said that it won't be a cumulative effect, it would be a "first day should be the worst" of any side effect and then it should taper off each day as my body adjusts to it. And that is what happened on day 2. We talked about whether I should take decadron if the symptoms remain difficult, but we both would rather not if not absolutely necessary, and I think now that it's not necessary...

Day 3 - went very well and I do still feel a little puny, but even an itty bit better than yesterday. Nothing I can't handle. I still felt a little tired, slightly agitated/moody, and that mild queasy post taxol/carbo feeling, but nothing out-landish or debilitating. It all did continue to dissipate every day like the doc predicted.

Weekend OFF - Day 3 was a Friday, so I had the weekend off. I felt just generally crummy all Saturday and Sunday (like mild flu or bad allergies). It was tolerable, not terrible, but no-one likes feeling yucky, so I nursed it with a lot of sleep and TV...

Day 4 - Monday morning I woke up and felt (get this) 100% better and normal! I was thrilled. I went in for IMRT, and powered through with no SEs at all.

Day 5 - Tuesday, my final treatment and again felt terrific. No SEs at all. Nothing. Nada. We did my final treatment celebration with confetti, and I was out of there!

The rest of the week was like nothing had happened. No fatigue, no fogginess, no moodiness. Nothing, nada. I was so impressed. I did attend a music festival over the weekend and did a lot of walking in the heat and dust for 6-7 hours each day, and by the time I woke up each morning after, I felt pretty beat up - but I think that would have happened anyway.

I guess those two days over the previous weekend in the middle of the IMRT rads schedule were really all my body needed to recover, rebuild and re-strengthen and get used to the beams... and it was really a breeze on day 4 and 5.

We will do a follow-up MRI at 6 weeks after finishing to see the results. He said we should see 5 necrotic spots and not to expect sloughing off of them for about 6 months to a year.

All in all, I couldn't ask for a more painless and tolerable brain radiation. A few days of mild crumminess. Like I haven't already had to live through that for months and months at a time! LOL