Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven – Countdown, Friday, October 02, 2009
Today was my last day of work in the office for approximately 3 months, from this point forward I’ll be working remotely (telecommuting) from Boston. I am thankful for this because I feel it will help keep my mind occupied while receiving treatments and living mainly away from home.
Monday’s the big day, this weekend I’ll be packing and getting things ready for the start of the Beantown experience. I plan on traveling out toward Boston around mid-day, as to get settled and be ready for early Tuesday morning.
I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo, but have never been able to decide what I wanted on my body forever. Now maybe I know! Depending on what I end up with for Proton Power T-shirts designs, I will either get a tattoo of one of those designs, or the very simple symbol used for positively charged hydrogen particles, which looks like this (H+).
Before I do that of course, I have to ask the Doc Delaney if there is any increased risk of infection due to the treatments. Which also reminds to ask about flu shots. Last time I was in Boston, they highly suggested I get one. I actually went to my family doc today but forgot to ask him for one.
I updated the SPOXTalk websites message about being temporarily closed and that no new shows are being produced until Jan.2010. At that time, after my treatments are completed and the holiday season is over, I’ll decide what to do with it. I am getting very “itchy” to go back on the airwaves … and if I have the energy, I’m going to do it, so get ready Dave J. and William B., I’ll be looking for new material around that time.
How am I feeling physically? This week has actually been pretty good considering the situation. It’s certainly not getting any easier to get around, but I don’t feel like things are getting any worse either. Hopefully, the deterioration of functionality will slow down as I start getting these treatments. That would be wonderful. If I can manage to stay in a similar condition as I am now, I can see the future of continuing work and life not so different then I’m experiencing now. I’d be happy right there. Even a little worse is OK.
With a little luck, I won’t be on a steady diet of pain meds, I think that will help too. We’ll know in a few months how this will all pan out.
How am I feeling mentally? Well, I’m excited about getting these treatments, but at the same time I’m torn about leaving all things behind in Vermont. It’s a tough thing to do, and while 3 months isn’t by any means a long time, it’s long enough to say I’ll be missing all the routine things in life. Yes, that includes family and such.
I don’t know if I’ve showed this image before on the blog, but this is a picture of the actual machine I’ll receive treatments on at the Francis Burr Proton Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. This is the real thing, in the real room where I’ll be. They say that 80% of the people that receive this treatment, found the information about it on the internet! … that’s certainly true in my case. The average cost for a hospital to setup with this machine and all the imaging equipment that is also required is 100 million dollars!
There are currently 4 of these machines running in the US and 4 more either under construction or in the planning stages. A total of 22 machines worldwide. Have I been lucky to get treated … you bet I have.
Here’s a link to a “flash presentation” about proton therapy. It is 5 short pieces that take about 5 mins to watch. It’ll give you a good idea of why I choose this instead of traditional surgery.
