Changes are afoot …
Today I had radiation treatment number 26, just two more to go. This is the point at which the radiation gods (or the fellow NY member of the tribe) decide to change the settings on Truebeam, my 1:15 daily date. Today’s radiation was focused solely on the tumor itself (did I mention I have rectal cancer?) as opposed to the last 25 which were simply flooding my pelvic girdle with sterilizing radiation. They figure that any stray cells in the area that surgery may miss are moot at this point.
The next two radiation treatments are called “boost” treatments. They turn the radiation up to 11 and I assume it stays focused on just the tumor.
I came home today feeling worse than usual. Stayed in bed for a few hours. This is really starting to suck and I am told that next week, after chemo and radiation end, may actually be worse. Something to look forward to.
My butt hurts. My stomach aches. It hurts like hell to urinate or ejaculate. I get queasy fairly often and am starting to get a rash or two in the target area. And yes, my nuts still hurt.
And they tell me that many get worse side effects. How reassuring.
