Radiation Update

Going back to the beginning for a minute, the only outward sign that something was wrong with Pete was that he would hiccup after eating, starting just a few months ago. Luckily his dr. in Vegas took this seriously and sent him for the test that would find evidence of cancer. By this point, it's estimated that the cancer had been growing 12-18 months already, an unsettling thought to say the least!

We met with the Radiation department on Tuesday, and Pete's first treatment will be May 4. We meet with the Chemo people next week and assume Chemo will start around that same time. Radiation is basically what you might think it is - a high energy XRay beam focused on the tumor and the surrounding area, which means up and down the esophagus and on the top of the stomach. You lay on a table to receive treatment and don't feel a thing, and they said that treatment from "door to door" is only about 45 minutes. It's still to be determined if he will have once a day treatments for 5 weeks or twice a day treatments for 3 weeks. Regarding side effects, there typically aren't many the first few weeks - it's more of a cumulative effect so they occur more at the end of the treatment cycle. He may have some nausea (they have good meds to control this), some redness in the area, difficulty swallowing, and fatigue.

Pete continues to have a positive attitude about all of this and has been very good about getting in his 3 mile walk everyday. We'll update next week after talking to the Chemo department.