No Clever Title Yet

Picked up the trays for my teeth thingees that I'll use during my course of radiation treatments to fortify my teeth against the radiation.  Never had braces, never had more than a single cavity in my life so this is brand new stuff! They said it's like a mouth guard but I never played sports either.

After that, went over to the medical oncologist for my follow up appointment.  After conferring with the radiologist and other doctors, she's decided on a course of carboplatin for me.  She stressed that it hasn't been proven to extend overall survival, but it does improve disease free survival, or as my wife so succinctly put it, it will improve my quality of life, my "comfort".  Dr. Nakkas's main concern other than the efficacy of treatment was my kidney function.  Cisplatin can be nephrotoxic; carboplatin can decrease kidney function temporarily but if managed properly, will cause no permanent damage.

After explaining all this, she turned to me and asked if I wanted chemotherapy.  My first thought was "What the hell are you asking me for?!  You're the doctor!"  But then I realized she was being a good doctor by laying out all the pros and all the cons for her patient so he can give his (presumably) informed consent.  I didn't want that responsibility because it was a lot closer to a life or death decision than I had ever come -- and my life to boot.  For an instant I wanted to have everything taken care of by someone else, someone who knew exactly what to do and who would make things all better.

I said yes.  From what I've learned, for people in my situation (my age, my tumor, my current health condition, my luck), if you're going to do chemo, do it early and do it hard along with the radiation.  Even though there's a possibility of kidney damage, it can be managed.  The discomfort (and in doctor-speak that can range anywhere from mild irritation to head-splitting agony) will be temporary.  In short the benefits will outweigh the risks.

So if tomorrow's biopsy doesn't turn up anything serious, I'll come back to Lakeland Regional Cancer Center in a couple of weeks to learn what my chemo regime will be like, do my radiology simulation, and become a front line foot soldier in the battle against cancer.