The Boost

My first week of "Involved Field Radiation Therapy"(IFRT) has come to close! Starting last Monday I recieved a 2 treatments a day, once in the morning, then another 6 hours later. Basically they lay me down on a bed similar to the one in this picture, then a system of lasers line up with the 10 little tatoo's I have all over my body so they know I'm properly aligned. After that they radiate the areas where I still have some large tumors, mostly in my chest. This week is what the doctor's affecionately call "The Boost". It's a additional level of radiotherapy before I start up the transplant.

Overall I tolerated the treatment well throughout the week. I watched some good movies in the down-time, and finished another book. However this weekend has been a little rougher. I think some of the organs adjacent to the treatment areas are angry, because my stomach is pretty upset, and I have what feels like heartburn, but is quite a bit more intense than any heartburn I remember. Hopefully a couple of days off will help.

I head into the hospital Monday evening and start a second week of radiation, followed immediately by 4 days of chemo, then several weeks of recovery. All in all, I'll be stuck in there for 4-5 weeks. I'll be sure to post the address and room number once I get checked in.

Thanks for all the great posts, emails and calls. I hope this message finds everyone doing well.

-Jeff