So I finished my full month of radiation on July 15th without any major complications. Halfway through the treatment Dr. Pang decided to expand the treatment area to include my chest and neck area as well. This was done as a precaution to keep the cancer from spreading to other areas that have already been affected. Prior to the expanded treatment the only side effect that I was suffering from was exhaustion which continues to be a problem but should subside over time. However after the treatment was expanded two more minor side effects occured. The first being a minor sore throat which was caused by the radiation hitting my esophagus, the other being a dry cough from the treatment to my chest and lung area. While the sore throat was minor and went away within a few days the dry cough has been persistent and is starting to get annoying. I have been up coughing in the middle of the night for 1-2 hours straight for the last few nights which has been making my exhaustion/ fatigue even greater. I am hoping that Dr. Pang can suggest a good cough medicine that will get rid of the ever present "tickle" in my throat so that I can start getting some better sleep!
I will be meeting with Dr. Liu on July 27th and at this time will find out what the next step of treatment will be. My "educated" guess is that he will have me wait another two weeks before running a PET scan at which time we will be able to see if the radiation was succesfull. I will update my blog at this time with any new reports!
- The picture above is Matt and Ryan Blangiardi and myself. I grew up two houses away from them in Kahala and we terrorized the neighborhood throughout our adolecent years. So much so that another neighbor dubbed us the "Makaiwa Monsters." It was great to get together with them for a few hours before Matt had to fly back to LA. We will have to meet up more often!
- I wanted to use this space to also send my continued sympathy to one of my best friends Vail and his family. Vails mom, Aunty Sandy, passed away after her own battle with health issues. She always greeted us boys with a smile whenever we got together at their house whether it be for New Years Eve celebrations or just random Friday nights. You will be missed by us all!
