they don't see any bees

i'd first like to start this post by apologizing for the delay in updating everyone. i just completed my 5th day of radiation - i'm on the table at 7:20am and out of the room by 7:25am. the radiation field is a very focused treatment and machine is only on for about 20 seconds on each side of me. i lie motionless on the table with my arms overhead as this big arm rotates around me. i have sharpie marks all over my chest and sides, as well as a permanent "freckle-like" tattoo that they use with a laser field to align everything. the room is lined with lead and the machine itself has a series of lead slats that create my specific field shape. the machine itself looks like a big kitchen-aid mixer without the bowl - and when they're cooking me i feel nothing. as of day 5 i can report no side effects but i realize that sometime in the next week or so i might begin to have some esophageal irritation and a little fatigue. but i digress, on to the great news -

we only have 17 weekdays of radiation [ that's 12 to go ] because...

the pet scan showed great results!!! the original score [ amount of radioactive sugar gobbled up by the mass ] was 35 - it's now a 4!!! we all have cysts in our bodies and anything that scores under a 7 doesn't even warrant further exploration. any shrinking would have been good sign but this is great. the mass that's leftover could just be scar tissue healing but that is why the radiation is our insurance policy. the analogy goes something like this -

if we think of the original mass as a beehive and the malignant cells as the bees - right now they see no bees. however, just because the hive has shrunk considerably and they see no bees that does not mean there are no bees. this is because the test cannot see through the hive - however, radiation can kill anything in it. and what's amazing about the human body is that radiation destroys the dna of the bad cells so they can't repair themselves where as my organs and tissue that are effected by the field can heal themselves over time. so over the next few weeks they will be monitoring my thyroid [ which is in the field ] and i may develop a bit of a cough as the tops of my lungs heal.

the last bit of good news is that because we did the 6 cycles of chemo instead of 4 the mass shrunk enough so that the radiation field stays completely above my heart. so as far as possible long term side effects go, we're looking real good. i've been staying active during these past few weeks and really what's slowed me down the most is the gastritis i've had. this makes alot of sense considering the prednisone is almost completely out of my system and the body is truly on its own for the first time. it's actually exciting to be frustrated by something as simple as a stomach ache - feels quite normal.

we've been handed off to a new set of nurses who i start my morning with every day - they are equally as cheery and inspiring as my chemo team. but then again, you never forget your roots - those ladies will be with me forever.

as my buddy mike fuller said to me this week - "great progress and great encouragement are a great combination"

have a great weekend everybody!!!