I went back for the follow-up consultation relating to my last neck operation two weeks ago, and my consultant (Mr Rhys-Evans at the Royal Marsden in Kensington; highly recommended) thinks it would be best for me to have radiotherapy to the site to try and reduce the chance of recurrence. There’s only so many operations one neck can sustain, and it’s best to do everything to avoid having to have any more.
In three weeks time, I’ll be fitted for a removable clear plastic brace/mould for my head and neck so that everything stays in the same position during treatment sessions. The course itself starts at the end of September (carefully planned to be just after Euro Foo and EuroOSCON :-) and runs for six weeks.
The dose, for those interested in such things, will be 60Gy, given over 30 treatments of 2Gy, each lasting about 15 minutes.
Due to the angle they are giving it at (from the front, down the right side of the neck) the beam will miss important things in the centre line of my body like my eyes, ears, teeth, oesophagus and spinal cord, so side effects are expected to be limited to skin reddening and damage.
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That doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. You only have to wear the brace/mould during treatments, right? Not the whole 6 weeks?
Good luck Gerv! I don’t know if I could handle all the stuff you’ve been through. (Like Step said, it really doesn’t sound like fun.) Anyway, I’ll be praying for you.
Gerv… please keep us updated. I will be praying for you.
Step: Yes, fortunately :-) I reworded that sentence three times to try and make that clear. Obviously a fourth attempt was needed ;-)
I don’t know if I could either, if I wasn’t certain that it was all for my good and God’s glory. The Bible tells me that all these things happen to make me more like Jesus in thought and action. And who could object to that?
Gerv, thanks for keeping us updated. I’ll be praying for you.
It is good to know that God is in control, though it’s hard for most of us to admit that we don’t have the ability to ‘understand it all’. He knows the bigger picture. I really look forward to getting to heaven and having it all make sense.
Good luck with your treatment. May Mozilla be with you at all time and help you through it.
Gerv,
My husband was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma November of 2000. I found your site by surfing for other people’s stories. Sounds like you have been through a lot, he has too. I searched throughout your site for as much info on the course this cancer has taken for you. Because the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma is not a prominant part of this site, I am thinking it is not a prominant part of your life. Please don’t take this comment in the wrong manner. I just know how cancer can figuratively “consume” a person. Especially, this type of cancer. The fact that your site does not contain a great deal of info pertaining to the cancer may be a testimony to the power Christ has in giving “the peace that passes all understanding”. Regardless, what a blessing for you and others that stumble across your site that Christ is truly a prominant figure in your life, as he is in mine.
I just wanted to make sure you know to have frequent MRI and CT scans along with a PET/Bone Scan. We knew Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma could metastasize to the lungs and liver, but it threw us off guard when a large tumor was discovered in my husbands left hip bone. Before going in for surgery on both his lungs to remove mets, his surgeon ordered a “routine” bone scan. His left hip was glowing, the cancer had invaded 70% of his acetabulum.
Hang in there! I would suggest putting on a little bit of weight if you can before the radiation. Eating may become very difficult, so going in with some reserves helps.
Keep up the good walk! A fellow sister in Christ,
Beth