7th radiation & saw doc

Today was my 7th radiation treatment. 3 more to go for this first round. This post will have lots of info.

Of course, the treatment was pretty much the same as the others. After the treatment, I met with Dr Henderson. We reviewed that I have mostly had little or no side effects so far. So...we went into discussion about where we go from here.

Beginning TODAY, Dr H has adjusted my steroids to start tapering off over about a 3 week period. I can't wait. I get to skip the last dose tonight!

When I finish the 10 treatments next week, will go for the first month mainly monitoring the healing process. Apparently, they really can't properly judge progress until enough healing has happened - so we wait. I will watch for any side effects during the healing and advise Dr H if anything comes up.

After this first month, will get an MRI to see the progress of the radiation. If any larger lesions remain, Dr H would target them with more focused radiation directly at the lesion.

Then, I will get a head MRI about every 4 months to monitor things. I will also need to monitor specific types of symptoms - which, if they occur, would dictate an immediate MRI. This ongoing monitoring will continue in tandem as Dr Einhorn will continue to deal with my lungs.

I see Dr E on Tuesday of next week to discuss status of my lungs and whether we need to begin any treatment for the lungs. He is waiting for the radiation treatment before doing anything further for the lungs. While I was with Dr H today, he sneaked a glance at my lung CT and said he didn't see any unusual comments re the lungs. I guess we'll see what Dr E says. Maybe I don't need to start anything for the lungs right now.