5th August, 2011: Phase 2 is underway – radiotherapy.
I came back from hospital where I underwent a series of entrance tests in order to pinpoint exact locations that need to be X-rayed. Yes, radiotherapy in oncology is based on X-rays that are aimed at the malignant cells and these are more susceptible to death than healthy ones.
The image below shows the exact machine used for my radiotherapy in my hometown. Beams it emits are targeted at the cancerous zones from different angles and can be millimeter precise. Mind boggles at how the technology has advanced over the past few years.
My schedule is following: I am getting a dosage every morning in the next three weeks. Every Tuesday is also a check-up day for blood tests and a CT scan to see how the treatment is progressing.
As far as side effects are concerned, it should be less upsetting than when I had chemotherapy. Since the beams go through healthy tissue, it will get hurt, too - mainly my skin and my throat, so swallowing hard food will be a little problem after two weeks. But, so far so good. I was given syrup to gargle to protect my mucosae and also pills with Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) to shore up my skin and blood.
Žiadne komentáre:
Zverejnenie komentára