Radiation

Last time, I went over Temodar chemotherapy.  Just to sum it up, it was 24 months worth of cycles, and then, it would be monitored every 3 months.  By the time I made it to the end, I was thankful to be done.  There wasn't a guarantee how long it would last, so I was hoping for it to last as long as possible.  You know, being "optimistic."  Inside my head, I was hoping on 2-3 years, but really it was more like 1 year or less.

I went in for my MRI, following up with Dr. Paleologos.  There was new growth of the brain tumor, which was more aggressive then usual.  Blast!  Dr. Paleologos tried had me try Temodar again, but I had no such luck.  It was then the doctor recommended radiation and chemotherapy for a conjunctive use. Temodar, only a lower dose, for 40 days straight.

There are lots of different radiation therapies that doctors use, depending upon which cancer it is.  In my case, in which the tumor had upgraded then to an Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma Grade 3, I was afraid they were going to old school radiotherapy.  Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy, Cyber Knife, Gamma Knife, and Proton Therapy are the major ones I looked into.  Now oligodendrogliomas are an infiltrating type of brain tumor, so the last three are sadly inapplicable to me, as they are known for being "too exact."  Oligodendrogliomas have "fingers" with grow into your brain, making appear fuzzy on the scans.  That means that brain tumor and actual brain matter can be hard or impossible to separate.

So after consultation which with Dr. Stutz, my radiation oncologist at local Good Samaritan Hospital, and Dr. Paleologos, my neuro-oncologist, IMRT was chosen to be the best for my tumor.  I was to get 40 sessions of it, after they prepared a rather tight mask out of a semi-flexible, plastic material.

IMRT is a relatively new form of old school radiation.  What is does first is CT scans my head, allowing them to make adjustments to my treatments.  (40 CT scans...scary, right?  I figure I already got cancer from God-knows-what, what's a little more radiation?)  Then, it shoots modulated x-ray beams though my head roughly the shape of my tumor, plus a margin to get any cells, or "fingers" I called them above.  20 minutes and I was done.  I had no side effects except losing my hair (which NEVER came back, thanks gene pool) and extreme tiredness.  Which went away, eventually.

Long term effects?  I am not as sharp as I used to be.  I remember having the memory of an elephant.  Now, I am slower.  I feel dumb.  Oh well, at least I am alive, right?  Of course, the radiation didn't last, either.  It was just a little part of the process which led me up to more chemo and eventually my second surgery in November of 2013.

I got to say thanks for getting though my story so far.  I promise to post an update though current day soon.  Then, I don't know.  I am open to suggestions (leave them in the comment below)!