Chondrosarcoma – ah shit, bob's sick

Now that I’m on my way past the first big BC/BS hurdle … I should add “at least for the moment”, I’m looking at the scheduling notes that are coming in from Boston. Yep, Sher is helping me organize them. Yesterdays thoughts about it being about 2 weeks seems to be about right when you add it all up.

Most of the scheduling I’m going to put in another post so I can keep track of it and be able to find it easily when I need to. There are several other things that have to happen before I can actually begin getting the real proton treatments, and I don’t have all that information yet. But I’m going to post what I do have and make adjustments from there.

First off, in part because of the amount of time that’s gone by, and also for the sake of accuracy, I have to be re-scanned this coming Thursday (September 24) in Boston. I need to arrive at 12 noon for a CT Planning Session.

What’s a CT Planning Session?

Before I can start these very serious treatments, things have to planned out with precision. Basically what they do, is scan you (yummy, more delicious dyes to drink), then they take those scans and put them in what is essentially computer simulator and start to program (yep, write a computer program) using the information from the scans. Cancer cells sometimes spread into the tissues close to the tumor, Dr. Delaney will decide on the exact area to be treated around the cancer. He may also treat a small area (margin) around the tumor to allow for slight movement during the treatment, for example, due to breathing.

In the meantime, a mold or shell of my entire, or part of my body (not sure about that), will be made so that I’ll be lying in precisely the same position every time I receive a treatment. This is very important.

When all is said and done, and the programming is finished, the simulator, will then move in exactly the same way as the proton therapy machine. In a nutshell, it’s a dry run and planning/practice session. Then over a 2 week period, the plan is fine tuned and something called IMRT sessions begin (October 7^th). By the way, that’s still not starting the proton therapy.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision

radiotherapy. Using the above planning scans, it delivers precise radiation doses to the tumor or specific areas within the tumor … and it does all this in a 3D mode! Now that’s some computing power! There are approximately 14 of these treatments from Oct 7^th until Oct 28^th. It’s after this point, that the real proton therapy begins and I’ll write about as I gain more knowledge about what’s coming up.

A recap:

September 24, 2009 begins the CT Scan and Planning Session

(most probably 1 day trip to Boston)

October 7^th thru 28^th begins the IMRT Treatments

(approximately 3 weeks, Mon thru Fri, in Boston)

October 29^th begins the Proton Therapy treatments

(not sure of the end date … but should be around mid December)

A few more thoughts:

1. I’m so glad not be writing about the surgery I once faced.
2. So happy that BC/BS doesn’t make it’s decisions based on money (yeah right!).
3. I’m anxious about these treatments, and nervous about them at the same time.
4. Now I can start to look for living quarters out in Boston area.
5. I had hoped to have this completed before winter (for driving reasons).
6. I hope I don’t glow at night and keep the cats awake!

I’m ready for my glass of Chaga Tea!