The first month is complete consisting of IMRT Radiation five days a week and three treatments with Chemo Therapy (once a week) that compliments the IMRT to bring the “Tongue Cancer” to a stop.
The schedule continues through the month of May and if all goes as forecasted I should be “Rid” of this pest by months’ end.
By the end of the third week of treatment I discovered that I could not keep up with an adequate diet to truly maintain my weight and health. The Radiation/ Chemo combination changed my ability to taste and enjoy food. I discovered you can’t live on “Milkshakes” and a product named “Ensure” that delivers a lot of calories but falls short of your total needs.
Thankfully and right on time, in walks the Representative from the Department of Clinical Nutrition and soon you find out the solution to your health needs. “Isosource,” a high calorie medical food, fills the bill and a “peg tube” (feeding tube) is required so they can “fill ‘er up”! At the MDA cancer center this is routine and I suggest you overcome your stubbornness, get it done and “get on with your life”!
Please realize that this is a “Temporary Solution”, it is not a permanent thing and will go away after you are properly fed.
SO my remaining schedule looks like: IMRT May 6
IMRT May 9, IMRT May 10, IMRT May 11, IMRT May 12, IMRT May 13,
IMRT May 16, IMRT May 17, IMRT May 18, IM RT May 19, IMRT May 20,
IMRT May 23, IMRT May 24, IMRT May 25.
These are the last treatments I will have and hope to have a ride home to the Dallas area arranged immediately upon completion.
Here is a nice newsletter that came out the end of last year from the University of Florida’s Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, Florida. It is sent out to all former patients and updates everyone on progress being made at the center and other relevant news. Nice laid out and presented, I think many will find this interesting. Here is the web link (CLICK HERE) were you can find the PDF format file of the newsletter. Enjoy.