Cody Updates by Mom

Well, today we got to meet Dr. Bisignani.  He is a doctor of oncology that specializes in radiation.  As with my other doctors he was very upfront with information about the reality of the situation and the pros and cons of the decision we had to make.

So, the decision to have radiation therapy shortly after my chemo process has wrapped up is yes.  It was a joint decision between the doctor, Jim and myself.  It is the right decision.

Here’s why it is the right decision.

Currently, with chemo and the drug I will be taking to put me into menopause I am at a 15-20% risk of this cancer recurring.  This number is derived from the fact that I got this cancer in my 40’s (which is young), the tumor itself was at or over 5 cm in size, there were multiple other microscopic tumors starting in other tissue on the left side, the cells on the right were changing over to cancer cells and the tumor was marked as an aggressive tumor.  Even though I did not have it in my lymph nodes I am at an increased risk due to those factors.

To understand this fully we had to understand what recurrence really means.  Recurrence is where this same cancer reappears in my body at a future time.  The same cancer means that it is not a completely different one like ovarian cancer but the same cell structure as the current cancer.  If I am in the 15-20% that have recurrence I have a 50/50 chance to have cancer that is metastatic cancer.  This means that it is in other organs in my body.  This is typically not curable.  With that knowledge that 15-20% feels quite a bit bigger than it may appear.

Now, if I add radiation to my treatment plan I reduce the percentage of recurrence down to 5-8%.  I really like single digit numbers!

So, the next road is radiation.  What does this mean?  It is not a debilitating as chemo but yet not all together fun.  Starting somewhere mid-July (14th we are thinking) I will be headed to Regions five days a week for 15 minute radiation sessions.  I will do this for six and a half weeks.  This will put radiation ending the week before labor day.  I have a planning session with the radiation team on July 10th to figure out timing and the best schedule for me.  Good thing is that they pride themselves on getting you in and out in less than 30 minutes and the provide free parking that is right outside the door to the radiation clinic.

Side effect will be minimal.  I will be tired.  He said that if I am working now with the chemo I will not have any issues continuing to work through the radiation.  I will also experience skin burning (like a bad sunburn) on the spot where they do the radiation.  There are no systemic side effects that will be difficult like the chemo.  I will have those side effects start wearing off while I am going through radiation.

They will only be doing the radiation on the left due to my situation.  Because of the closeness to my lungs and heart they will be watching me closely to ensure there is no damage.  This is a common thing for them to do so they are confident which makes me confident in their abilities.

Other than the scheduling fun I will be able to get back to normal life after chemo is done.

There are still a lot of things that we need answers on for future roads but we continue to get closer to knowing what the journey will be.

Both Jim and I are in agreement that this is the right path and feel that we are doing everything to ensure that we do not have a repeat of this cancer.  We do not want any regrets or “we wish we would have done that” in this process.  It is not the answer we wanted from a timing and financial standpoint but it is the answer that is the right answer.

I thank you all again for all the prayers and appreciate all the kind notes that I have received.  I am lucky to have you all here in my life.  We have a hopeful future of no returns on this cancer.  Hope is good.

Caring Bridge Comments

Joan Gilmore|Jun 26, 2014 7:32am
God’s strength to you!!