Hannibal Lecter Day

March 31, 2011 – This morning I had my first visit with Dr. Arb, Medical Oncologist I’ll now call her ChemoDoc. My radiation Oncologist, Dr. Neal will be RadDoc. I might as well have some fun with this. ChemoDoc was VERY thorough and covered everything very well. I’ll be getting something called Cisplatin intravenously once per week (3 hours each). Anti-nausea meds and plenty of fluids will be included. They’ll be looking for excessive fluid loss over time as well as weight loss issues. A feeding tube will only be needed -  if needed. I need to be able to swallow well enough to keep myself alive.

This afternoon I was at RadDoc’s office for a CT scan and the creation of my Hannibal Lecter mask. That was no big deal. I’m getting used to getting poked and filmed now. Then it was a conversation with…..who the hell was that again…..some nurse named Debbie who gave me general information about treatments, clinical studies, side effects and more than I cared to listen to anymore. Seven weeks of radiation, 5 days per week.  The PET scan (tomorrow) will help RadDoc and his team decide on the exact methodology.

Emotions – Just glad to be getting going. I’m resigned to it now. Joanne is feeling stronger too. I guess you can get used to anything.