Today was my last scheduled radiation treatment. However, like last Tuesday the machine was down, and they weren't sure if they'd get it back online, but they'd know in about an hour. Was this more bad luck? Or just a transient hiccup? Sometimes fighting cancer is as simple as staying calm and being patient (no pun intended).
It turns out it was a transient hiccup, and after my 5 minute treatment I literally jogged back into the waiting area as my form of taking a victory lap. Not bad considering an hour earlier I had made an offhand comment about back pain and the uncomfortable chairs, and the staff happily found a gurney for me to lay down in and rest while waiting. I felt obliged to mention that laying down in the gurney made my back much better and my pain can be very specific to what I'm doing. Walking typically isn't a problem, while bending over to feed the cat can be excruciating. The cat has no sympathy however, and thought I was just being the biggest tease when I very carefully and slowly bent at the knees instead of the back before dumping his breakfast into his bowl.
Part of my improved mood today is due to better management of symptoms. Yesterday I met with the radiation doc and mentioned my pain and nausea. I came away with a script for the nausea which helps greatly and a better plan for pain management.
There's basically 4 options for pain management each with their own downside:
- Tylenol, which can cause liver damage if you take just a little more than the recommended daily maximum.
- NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.), which can cause bleeding and thus are bad after surgery.
- Steroid anti-inflammatories, which suppress the immune system, and besides I'll be getting plenty of that when starting chemo.
- Vicodin, see "opioid crisis".
The doctor convinced me that Vicodin is a good choice, as my use will be short term and he hasn't seen problems with cancer patients wanting to stay on the drug. Besides, ibuprofen will become an option again soon enough, and if the radiation treatments work I won't need much if any pain management. That said, I'm only taking the Vicodin at night, which means I can use more of my daily allowance of Tylenol during waking hours. (important side note: Vicodin actually contains some Tylenol, so when employing a strategy like this you have to count all medications which include Tylenol against the daily limit)
Great, so symptoms are under control and radiation treatments are completed. My mood and optimism are greatly influenced by how I feel. Generally speaking, if I'm not in pain and able to go for a run, how sick can I really be? It also helps that last night as I slept I dreamed of playing ultimate Frisbee.
Also of note, I voted today! Some call it a civic duty, I called it a good reason to shower and get out of the house for something other than medical reasons.
Next up is to see the urologist on Thursday about the catheter. It's an ongoing annoyance, but not nearly as annoying as urinary retention. For the time being I'm happy to count the catheter as part of my penis length and will note that it hangs nearly to my knees. Good luck getting that image out of your head!
Assuming I can lose the catheter on Thursday, I'll have almost a week of "time off" before meeting the medical oncologist to talk about starting chemo. That's my window to get back to daily walks, focusing on eating healthier, and generally getting rested and ready for the next battle.
Hang in there Tom, we're rooting for you!
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