5 down, 23 to go

I've finished my first five days of proton beam radiation treatment and oral chemotherapy. With breakfast and dinner, I take 300 mg of Xeloda, an oral chemotherapy drug, which breaks down into the equivalent of 5-FU, the drug I received two years ago through a pump. So far, other than some mild nausea and fatigue I haven't any serious side effects. I've been able to eat my regular diet without any major problems.

Each night at 8:30 pm, I have traveled to the CDH Proton Center in Warrenville, IL. I lay on my stomach on a table for about 30 minutes. Most of that time is spent making sure I am in the correct position, using lasers and x-ray images. Then, for about two minutes the beam is focused on my tumor, and because protons have mass, unlike the photons used in regular radiation, the radiation stops at the edges of my tumor rather than passing all the way through my body. This should reduce the impact to my healthy tissue.

Unfortunately, the base of my spine is in the treatment field and there is a reasonable chance that I could experience nerve damage some time after treatment is completed. This would be unfortunate, but as my doctor said, I'm already having pain, so leaving the tumor untreated would result in essentially a 100% chance of damage to the nerves. This could result in symptoms like pain, numbness or tingling depending on which nerves were damaged. Despite these possible side effects, I still believe that this treatment is the right course given my current situation. I appreciate the straightforward and honest way that my doctor, Dr. McGee, has approached my treatment plan and the possible side effects.

I now get two days off of chemo and radiation! I'm looking forward to announcing a Wheaton College Women's Basketball game tomorrow afternoon and watching the Patriots play the Colts. Then, on Monday it will be back to treatment again, as I have 23 days left of my 28-day treatment schedule.

Thanks as always for your prayers and support. I have felt the Lord supporting me this week in tangible ways, and I know that there are a lot of people praying for me. Thank you!