Radiation Log

[Matt_24]

I had my first radiation treatment yesterday. It was easy and painless. About three hours after radiation I suddenly realized I was pretty tired and went to take a nap. Slept until 8:00. I woke up and read for about 30 minutes while eating a few saltines and went back to sleep about 8:30. I woke up this morning and felt like I slept way too much. My stomach feels a bit...well, I would describe it as weak, but not nauseous. I'm not really hungry for anything....but I ate a bit of smart start cereal, dry...with some vitamin water (good stuff...).

So, at 10:45 this morning I go through treatment number two. 14 to go (including todays). I'll keep everyone posted.

Oh, and the cool thing is I've been given the luxury of free valet parking due to my therapy, so I don't have to spend 20-30 minutes hunting down a parking spot (literally) at Walter Reed. That part is REALLY nice.

[QuintenvG]

I'm having the fifth RT-session this afternoon. In the second week of the treatment I'm feeling more stronger than during the first sessions. It seems like the strange feeling in my stomach has gone.

After the first treatments I only wanted to eat salty (junk)food and slept for hours. This is still going on: if I go to bed, I'll sleep, no matter what time of the day it is.

I'm really interested in the development of your RT-sessions, so please keep us posted!

[Matt_24]

Hi. It is 2:05 Eastern time, and I had my RT around 10:30 (only takes a few minutes...literally).

I feel like I could sleep if I layed down...I just don't want to sleep the day away like I did yesterday. I think I got way too much sleep.

For lunch I ended up having a Subway sandwich. I felt hungry...but not really enjoying the food, you know? Kind of hard to explain...but at least I'm not vomiting. That is always good. I do feel very tired.

I went to Blockbuster to grab some movies and the guy working there had a Livestrong bracelet on. I chatted with him briefly.

I'm about to have a big glass of ice water and lay down on the couch and watch some Sopranos. If I sleep, I sleep....but just going to relax. That is cool if you're in the second week and it seems easier! Keep us posted.....I'd like to know what I have to look forward to (good or bad).

[rjs]

Your postings seem all too familiar to me. Been there and done that. I found that if I ate or drank something SLOWLY when the stomach was queasy then it seemed to settle stuff down a bit. But as for being tired, I can tell you that the weekend breaks did seem to help some for recovery, however, it was short lived once the week started back. The effects are cumulative, so the level of fatigue will increase as you get more treatments behind you.

Some of this may be mental, but I found later in the process that just walking in the treatment room and laying on the table would seem to start the nausea at a higher level. Never understood it, but the hours immediately following my treatments were often when I felt the most nausea. Luckily, I never had to vomit either.

Anyway, you are well on your way to getting this behind you. Hang in there and Live Strong.

[Karen]

My husband did 15 days for 25Gy total. Exactly two hours after each zap he got sick. The first day he vomited, but after that he took a Compazine 1 hour before the RT and a second one 5 hours after. He also chugged well chilled Pepto Bismol straight from the bottle. He said he felt seasick every day and even a week or so after RT stopped. He was never tired, just unsettled. rjs is right about the mental part. Ray would get nauseous just anticipating the nausea

Your body's working hard to repair the healthy tissue, so rest when you need to, drink lots of fluids and increase your protein intake.

It'll be over soon, hang in there!

[Matt_24]

Day 3:

I overdid it with the eating. I felt great this morning and had a sausage and biscuit. After my treatment the fatigue hit me pretty good, but since I wasn't feeling very naesous, I had macaronia and cheese with a cheeseburger. Horrible idea. I got a bit naesous (not too bad)...never vomited but had diarrhea. Not trying to gross anyone out, but want to give an accurate portrayal of what this can do. I was feeling really tired. Never before have I been a NAP person. I never take naps. I did however take a two hour nap and that really hit the spot. Felt like a new man when I woke up. Oh, I also had a lot of caffeine today and I'm thinking that was hard on my belly as well. I'm a caffeine addict, but might have to give it up. Easier to quit when drinking it makes you ill.

BTW, There is a great product called vitamin water which is flavored. Easy on the tummy, and tastes GREAT. I highly recommend it.

So, my course of action is no caffeine, eat much lighter, and take naps after treatment (I saw how good it made me feel).

I'll keep you posted.

Matt

[Karen]

Sausage and biscuit, mac and cheese and a cheeseburger......man, I gained 2 lbs just reading your post!!!!

Glad you can take a nap and feel better after! Hang in there!

[Matt_24]

Sausage and biscuit, mac and cheese and a cheeseburger......man, I gained 2 lbs just reading your post!!!!

Glad you can take a nap and feel better after! Hang in there!

I'm a goat.....or I was! LOL...Now its more like saltines and water.

[Fed]

Hey Matt,
At least now you know what is working well for you during your treatment. I'm glad you are getting to enjoy the perks of valet parking. Just make sure you keep getting plenty of rest. Radiation is a drain on healthy tissue, so you need to give time for your body to recover from it.

[Matt_24]

Day 4: I felt rough this morning...very weak and dehydrated. Did any of you notice increased urination during radiation? I had to get up and urinate about 3 times during the night (night defined as 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.). I've been drinking about a bottle of Dasani an hour. Until this is over, I'm not risking drinking anything else but water....see below.

I had some ruthless diarrhea. Learned the hard way to follow the dietary instructions, because when you eat or drink (caffeine) the wrong stuff it makes your diarrhea acidic and it REALLY burns you badly. Fortunately I have a two year old and borrowed some of her rash stuff (that has ZINC) and that took all of the burn away. I popped some imodium and I've had no caffeine today (guess I'll get used to that) - and so far, so good! I did have a craving for a sandwich, so I stopped by subway (there is one in Walter Reed) after my treatment and had a turkey on italian with ONLY lettuce and a little bit of mustard. Ahh...it really hit the spot, and there is nothing in that which will...well...burn you up should some loose bowels set in.

So, today after getting past a rough beginning, I've felt the best I've felt so far. I feel tired, but pretty normal. I'm going to pop in a movie and crash out for a while.

[Sans rt1]

My doctors told me to drink lots of fluids during my RT, so of course I did go a lot. I never felt dehydrated, but I never had any problem with bowels as I had the paraortic (are you getting dogleg RT?)

You know, I am enjoying your posts, as they are bringing back memories. It is really all about taking good care of yourself, finding out what works for you and what doesn't, and getting plenty of rest - and it will all be behind you soon.

I too could not stomach a cup of cofee during RT. I choked down a very diluted cup every morning to get going, but did not want anything more - except, in the last week of treatment I discovered that a double shot of espresso after my afternoon nap tasted real good, perked me up, and did not cause any problems (but I could not make it through a full regular cup without feeling I was going to gag). Go figure.

[ronniereb]

I am reading this thread with a lot of interest as I go in for my simulation next week on the 24th. I must say I am more that a little bit nervous about the impending treatment and side effects. I am going to try to maintain my work schedule throughout it.

[Sans rt1]

ronniereb - -

It will probably depend on you and how your body handles it. Some have reported little affect other than being a little tired. Others have it tougher with nausea, and very tired. I was somewhere in between.

I have a desk job, and worked throughout. Since you get RT every day for 5 days, with the weekends off, I found I had lots of energy Monday, but got more tired as the week progressed. So, most Fridays I only worked half days. I had discussed all this with my manager and co-workers ahead of time - everyone understood and was supportive. I was told to do whatever I could and if I needed to take off to feel free to do so.

Hopefully, you will be one that has little effects. Also, hopefully your management and co-workers are as supportive as mine were.

Good luck to you. It will be behind you before you know it.

[Matt_24]

My treatment is paraortic as well. All my life...when I get nauseous or nervous stomach it goes to diarrhead versus vomiting. Not sure why. Same thing here. None today though...but I've watched what I've eaten. Very tired....but no nausea. I took a two hour nap and I've just been vegging out.

I go into work for about an hour and a half - then make the treck to my treatment. After that I go straight home for the day. No more work for me..and thankfully they're very supportive. Well, the Doctor put me on a profile anyhow, so they would have no choice if they wanted to complain (in the military)..LOL.

All in all, the worst side effect is just being so tired. Oh well, 11 more treatments to go and we're done.

[Matt_24]

Well, I've done a poor job at keeping this log.

As I'm almost near the end of my treatment - perhaps I'll go over my personal side effects.

I took Zofran for Nausea which is really good stuff. My DOC said its very expensive, but "hey"...I'm active duty, so it doesn't cost me a thing. My Rad Techs were quite convinced I would get nauseous, but I never did really. My stomach would feel strange (as it does today)...but I found I would overdo it a bit and get diarrhea. For example, I went without much caffeine during this thing - but as I grilled out for Memorial Day I was drinking soda all day. Around 1 a.m. Tues morning I was paying for it with diarrhea all morning. I felt horrid, and it was all I could do to drive myself to the treatment (1 hr + away)..but I made it. So, my advice is follow the dietary guidelines. I would get strange feelings like...I would not be hungry - but instead of progressively getting hungrier around a meal-time I would just suddenly feel like I was starving. Very weird....

I did experience being tired. I'm not a big nap person - but maybe 5 times out of this deal I've had to knock out for a four hour nap. Most of the time I just lay on the couch, rest, and watch t.v. but don't fall asleep...but I would say, get as much rest as you can.

The weekends are great because you build up your strength and get active again..UNTIL - the next treatment..LOL.

As far as my treatments were concerned they went well. All of my radiation techs had their degrees in Radiation Therapy from Howard University (right down the street from Walter Reed, on Georgia Ave), and really know their stuff. In fact, students from Howard come up and intern for their full junior years I think. We had a few that I've gotten to know. I played a little joke on them the first day (and surprised the head radiation guy who was administering my treatment that day). The head therapist was showing the girl how to put my testicle in the clamshell. He was describing how to put the weight down, and as always he would put it down and ask, "Is that ok?". Well, as he was putting down the weight, I yell out, "AHH!!!!"...and the girl jumped back and her eyes got big. The therapist looked funny too...but I quickly said, "Just kidding!". Well, they both got a big laugh out of that. Hey, might as well make it fun, right?

Anyway, this hasn't been too bad and has gone by really fast. I'm still getting used to just having one testicle. I think because it is handled everyday I'm getting quite "sensitive" to it, where before I never REALLY noticed my testicles. I've been getting a bit OCD about self-exams - but what are you gonna do? I guess it is normal to be a little paranoid for a while.

So, I guess that is my big story. Two more blasts and God willing I'm all done with testicular cancer FOREVER! (besides follow-ups)...oh, that is CANCER PERIOD forever.

Some sad news during this - my 83 year old grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. I'm driving home to visit a day after my last treatment. Not really thrilled about that one, but such is life.