7/7: Midpoint reflections in cancer journey
Originally written: Dr. Rick Brown, Dec 29, 2016
The Second Leg
I have nearly completed the second leg. Five days of radiation are behind me, and now I have only to ride out the symptoms. The date for the surgery has been set for February 10 and all of the appointments between now and then have been set.
I was curious, and secretly hoping (maybe not so secretly), that the rectal mass would have shrunk. The CT scan that was done 10 days prior to the start of radiation is not routinely read for "diagnosis".It is used by the radiation department to determine the settings for the giant ray gun that performs the therapy. I was quite interested to see if the mass had indeed gotten smaller. Upon speaking to the Radioncologist, he informed me that the mass had not changed "appreciably", but it was difficult to say because the position I was in during the scan was different than the position I was in for the initial diagnosis. I took that to mean that it had shrunk. It also meant that the initial plan was still in place.
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